To Be Hermione? Or Not To Be?
by AcousticWind
Summary: All Hermione wanted to do was go to Hogwarts to learn, get a good education. Too bad they won’t accept any more girls. So what does she do? Disguise as a boy of course! But she didn’t plan on becoming friends with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. Complete Su
1. Prologue

**Title:** To be Hermione? Or Not To Be?

**Rating: **T

**Genre:** Romance/Humor

**Summary:** All Hermione wanted to do was go to Hogwarts to learn, get a good education. Too bad they won't accept any more girls. So what does she do? Disguise as a boy of course! But she didn't plan on becoming friends with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley.

**Author's Note:** Hi!! OK..so this is my first fanfic….ever. LOL! I don't know if it's any good. I hope it is though…haha.

This story is told in Hermione's point of view. I intended to write chapters alternating between Hermione and Harry…but it's too complicated….especially for my first fan fic. lol.

And I just want to make this clear, this takes place during 7th year. Voldemort is dead and Dumbledore is still alive. Hermione doesn't know anyone, except for Ginny. But whatever…..everything's pretty much self explanatory later on. (I hope..lol)

Oh and Hermione might be a little OOC.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing. I don't own Harry Potter, nor do I own any of the characters, settings, etc. And I never will. haha.

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Ok so this chapter is just kind-of a prologue. Helps you get the idea of what's going on. I'll be releasing Chapter One at the same time as this, so it's basically just a background thing. It might be kinda boring…But I promise it gets better! 

**Note:** You do not need to read this to understand chapter 1. I just wrote this for those who would like to get a better understanding of Hermione's background. I will provide a short recap in the next chapter.

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Prologue 

_Dear Ginny,_

_How are you? How's life at Hogwarts? Let's see, how long have you been there? I believe it's been 3 years already. My, how time flies. It seems like just yesterday when I met you, when you were just a lonely first year, entering the grounds of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic. I'm still a tad upset you know. I still don't get why your mother wanted you to attend Hogwarts instead. Was it because of the Triwizard Tournament in fourth year? Scared of Voldermort returning, wasn't she? Maybe that's why she wanted you go there, so your brothers could look after you (which reminds me, I still haven't met them. You must introduce me next time). Still, now that's Voldemort's gone, can't she let you come back? Instead of leaving me here, in Beauxbatons: Academy Of Stuck-Up Witches. Oh, Ginny, you won't believe how hard it's been here. Being held hostag in a school of spoiled rich girls is really getting to me. Thank goodness Fleur's gone (No offense or anything, but I don't understand why your brother, Bill I think, would marry a snob like her). Still, there are other girls to follow in her footsteps. But I think I've finally reached my breaking point, Gin. It's not like this place is that good of a school anyways. I expect Hogwarts is a much more qualified school, as I've read in Hogwarts: A History. Maybe I should transfer there…That would be wonderful! Anyways I've got to go now. Write Back Soon!_

_With Love, _

_Hermione_

Finished! Just in time, ten minutes till dinner starts. "Come here, little owl! I've got to get to dinner!" I yelled to a handsome, large brown barn owl. It gracefully flew down from the ceiling, and landed right next to me on the table. I quickly tied the letter to its outstretched leg. Then he flew out the window, towards the horizon. Oh, how I wished I was that owl. I wish I could go to Hogwarts, instead of being trapped in this hole.

I ran down the steps and crashed into no other than the one and only Gabrielle Delacour, sister of the infamous Fleur Delacour, whom every girl here admires. I have absolutely no idea why. She's just a spoiled little girl. What's so special about her? While I pondered on that thought, Gabrielle and her little gang stared at me with disgust.

"Thanks a lot, Granger," sneered Gabrielle, "Now I smell like owl crap!"

"It was on accident, and it's not like you didn't smell like owl droppings before!" I remarked. It's true too, all that perfume she wears. I'm surprised she can still breathe under all that.

"That's it, Granger! You've been on my nerves for a long time now, I think it's time we taught you a lesson." And with that, they all whipped out their wands.

I'm not scared at all. I'm way smarter than they are. They probably don't even know how to perform a decent spell.

**SLAM.** I flew back and hit the wall with great force. I've actually been hit by their spells. Wow. It must be the end of the world or something, cause there's no way I was just got hit. I reached into my robe pockets and grabbed my wand. Oh it's on now. "_Expellia-"_

" 'old it right there Miz Granger." said a deep voice behind. I could recognize _that_ voice anywhere.

I turned around on my heels and looked up. And there she was, Madame Maxine. This is

great. Just great. Gabrielle just so happens to be her favorite student, after Fleur left of course.

"You know zat magic is forbidden in ze 'alls. Now come wit' me to my office."

I didn't even bother objecting. It's not like she would believe me. As I followed her down the hall, I heard Gabrielle stifling her laughter. I swear I'm gonna get her one day!

Back In Hermione's Dorm (after Hermione's meeting with Madame Maxine)

That's it! I'm sick of always getting framed. I'm sick of Gabrielle. I'm sick of Madame Maxine. I'm sick of this school. I'm sick of everything!

"AHHHHH!!" I screamed into my pillow. And I feel a bit better. Just a bit.

Then the realization hit me. What's stopping me from leaving this dump? I could just go to Hogwarts. No one can stop me, it's not like my parents will object. I must ask Aunt Minerva (**AN- Yes, Professor McGonagall is her aunt)**…She's the second-in control! Of course she could get me in! Wow. I'm supposed to be the smartest witch of my year…how come I never thought of this before!

**Tap. Tap.** I turned to face my window and I saw a tiny owl the size of my fist. I hurriedly ran over to open the window. The poor little thing was about to drop right out of the sky. I opened the window quickly and it zoomed right in, crash landing onto my bed. I quickly untied the letter from his legs, but the owl still lay there. Better let it rest first. I ripped open the envelope.

_Dear Hermione,_

_I hope this letter made it to you! Ron's owl is a complete mess! Anyways, it's great to hear from you! And you're right…Hogwarts is much better than Beauxbatons! _Gee..thanks for making me feel better, Ginny. _But at least you don't have to live with Phlegm!_ What in the world is she talking about? _Phlegm's the codename me and my brothers use for Fleur. Fits her well doesn't it? Well, it's pure madness here, Mom still hates her! It's rather funny actually… Anyways, I miss you lots, Herms, but there's no way I'm gonna back to Beauxbatons. The last three years here were great! I just wish you could be here too! And you know you said you wanted to come here? Well guess what? I asked Professor Dumbledore if you would be able to transfer here! But he said there's no more room for girls, says the dormitories are full. I begged him too! I said you were the brightest witch I've ever met, and that Hogwarts would do much better with you here. But he still said no. There's only room for boys…I tried, Herms, I really did. Maybe you could ask that aunt of yours…didn't you say she was a teacher here? _**(AN- Hermione didn't tell Ginny that McGonagall was her aunt.)** _Best of luck, Hermione! I've got to get to bed, major exam tomorrow. Write back soon._

_XOXO_

_Ginny_

_PS-Could you send Pig back with another owl? Just incase he can't make it? Thanks a bunch._

Well, that just burst my bubble. So I can't go to Hogwarts. I'll be stuck here for another year…Another year of Gabrielle filled madness…But you know what? No. I'm not gonna stay here. I'm gonna find a way to get to Hogwarts. I'm getting out of here if it's the last thing I do! As a matter of fact, I'm gonna go see Aunt Minerva right now.

I rummaged through my trunk. There it is! I reached in a grabbed a sack full of powder. My _in-case of emergency _Floo Powder. It's not like anyone will know I'm gone… and with that, I stepped into my personal fireplace and took a deep breath. "Hogwarts. Minerva McGonagall's office," I said out loud.

"Hermione!" yelled a strict voice, "What in the world are you doing here!"

"Oh, just dropping by, Aunt Minerva," I said casually. My looked at Aunt Minerva, and saw her glaring at me. Note to self: Don't provoke Aunt Minerva.

"Ok..so the real deal is that…I'm sick of Beauxtons! I'd rather get attacked by a herd of hippogriffs than go back there!" I yelled. That's saying something…hippogriffs are not to be messed with.

Aunt Minerva's face softened, "Hermione, dear, I would love for you to come to Hogwarts. But there's absolutely nothing I can do. There's no room for you. I'm terribly sorry."

"But I hate it there! I hate the school, I hate the students, I hate Madame Maxine!"

"I'm sorry, dear. But the best I can do is to ask Albus to talk to Olympe. Tell her to go easy on you. Now, you should get back before you get in more trouble."

Great…I wanted to at least stay a while before I go back to that hell hole. Then an idea struck me.

"Can I visit Ginny first?" I asked in the kindest, cutest voice I could manage.

She looked at me, her face unreadable. "Ok, but just for a while! After that, you come back to my office and go back to your dorm. Promise?"

"I promise. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Aunt Minerva!" I said, genuinely happy.

"Very well. Miss Weasley should be in the library studying for my exam tomorrow. Run along. I shall leave the floo powder on my desk. I might not be in my office when you come back so just lea-"

I zoomed out the door before she finished.

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Ok..done!! Next chapter, Ginny and Hermione come up with a plan for her to go to Hogwarts! You probably know what the plan is by reading the summary..but that's ok! lol! So next chapter, the story really begins! 

Please Review!


	2. Meet Herman

AN- Ok so this is chapter 1. By the end of this chapter, Hermione's at Hogwarts! Yay! And other important stuff happens aswell. lol! Enjoy!

Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter. Nor will I ever.

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For Readers who didn't read Prologue:

-Hermione has had it with Beauxbatons because she doesn't fit in there, and everyone's like basically really rude and obnoxious to her. And so Ginny, Hermione's old friend from Beauxbatons, who now attends Hogwarts, tries to help Hermione think of a plan to get her into Hogwarts, because according to Dumbledore, the girl dormitories are full, so they cannot accept anymore female students. The chapter begins with Hermione looking for Ginny in the library.

Recap:

"_Very well. Miss Weasley should be in the library studying for my exam tomorrow. Run along. I shall leave the floo powder on my desk. I might not be in my office when you come back so just lea-"_

_I zoomed out the door before she finished._

* * *

In the library:

"Ginny? Ginny!" I whispered in the library. I always hated the people who yell in libraries. It's impossibly rude!

I scanned the tables, and looked in the aisles. Until I finally spotted her bright orange hair huddled underneath a rather large textbook.

I joyously ran across the floor and gave her a big bear hug.

"…Can't…breathe," gasped Ginny.

I quickly released her, and the realization hit her.

Then she let out a loud squeal. "HERMIONEEEE!!!"

Wow. My ear drums are officially broken.

"Hermione! What are you doing here?!" said a flabbergasted Ginny, "You were at Beauxbatons just a few hours ago…how'd you manage to get here?"

"I used some floo powder, and I flooed (**AN-I didn't know what to write..lol)** into Aunt Minerva's office," I replied, as though it was the simplest thing in the world.

"Aunt Minerva?! You don't mean Professor McGonagall do you?"

"Ermm..actually it is. I must have..uhm..forgotten to mention it," I said rather nervously.

"My goodness, why didn't you tell me sooner? You could've gotten her to give me good marks! Hey, do you think you could get her to call of the exam tomorrow becau-"

"Ginny!" I yelled, appalled.

"Ok. Ok. I was just kidding! Now, back to business…What are you doing here??"

"I followed your advice! I asked my aunt if she could help me get into Hogwarts…But she told me the same thing you said, in the letter. That there was no more room for girls, only boys. But that's really unfair, isn't Ginny? I mean, can't they just squeeze me in? It's not like I take up that much room…I'd sleep anywhere just to get away fro-"

Ginny interrupted my rambling, "Woah there, Hermione! Calm down! Now, let's think of a solution to all this, okay?"

I'm shocked. That's the most rational thing I've ever heard Ginny say.

"Okay. What do you have in mind?" I sighed.

"Well, let's see. Number one, you want to leave Beauxbatons, like right now. Number two, Hogwarts is only accepting guys. So I guess the only thing you can do is, well, to say bluntly…uhm, what I mean to say is-," Ginny paused, stumbled for the right words, "What I mean to say is that the rational thing you could do…the _only_ thing you could do, if you really want to come to Hogwarts that is, is to…pretendtobeaboy," she said, hurriedly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that," I responded, confused.

"Pretendto beaboy," Ginny muttered again.

"Sorry, but I didn't quite catch that either," I repeated.

"I said," Ginny began slowly, "That you need to pretend. To. Be. A. Boy."

Ginny's scream must have really broken my ear drums, cause I could've sworn she said that I needed to pretend to be a boy…

Oh wait. She did say that.

"Are you out of your mind, Ginny? How do you expect me to do that? You know I can't lie about anything, especially about something that's so absurd!" I said, still thinking about how ridiculous this so-called plan was.

"What's so absurd about it? If you really wanted to come to Hogwarts, and, in your case, get a good education, it wouldn't matter what you had to do. And it's not like you have to pretend to be a guy forever. Just for a couple of months. And who knows? Maybe when you're there, some girl will quit and then you can take their spot! Then you could be a girl again!" Ginny answered.

"Okay, well say, for some weird reason, I do pretend to be a guy, how do you expect me to fool everyone? Especially Dumbledore, who everybody says is the sharpest wizard around?" I stated as a matter-of-factly.

"Just don't hang around him that much! It won't be that hard, and you can tell McGonagall too! I'm sure she'll help you, well she might be a little angry at first (**a little?!)** but she'll recover! She probably wants you here since you're so smart, she just doesn't want to break the rules to get you in. Plus, I'll be with you wherever you go! Come on, it's not that hard!" Ginny said.

"You're forgetting one main point, Ginny! I don't look like a guy! And we don't have enough ingredients for polyjuice potion!" I said, frustrated.

"Have you forgotten, dear Hermione?" said Ginny, amused, "We can do magic! How hard could it be to make you look like a guy? We just need to change your hair a bit, and it won't even be permanent. After classes, we could change it back. Just deepen your voice a little. And the robes will basically cover everything else! No one would suspect a thing! You'd just be a rather scrawny boy. No big deal there!"

You know what? Maybe this could work…

"I'm gonna plan everything out ok? This is so exciting! First we need to ge-"

4 days later:

I don't know how I got here. How I got to be standing outside Hogwarts Castle, staring at the large entrance doors. With my short hair, thanks to Ginny (who better be able to change it back!), and boyish clothes, pulling my large suitcase (with both boys and girls clothes, I might add. I'm not gonna be a boy 24/7) behind me. I still don't know how she actually managed to get me a transfer to Hogwarts, I asked her and all she did was grin mischievously. I have a feeling I don't really wanna know.

I inhaled the scent of eggs and sausages. Breakfast must be starting soon. I better hurry and head up to Aunt Minerva's office, she promised to help me get settled in. As Ginny had predicted, Aunt Minerva did get rather angry. She told me how irresponsible it would be, and how dumb the plan was. But hey, I convinced her in the end, and that's all that matters.

I pushed open the doors and headed straight for my aunt's office. When I walked in, she was pacing around the room, probably wondering if I really did go through with the idiotic plot. Well, sorry to burst her bubble, but I did.

"Good Morning, Aunt Minerva," I said politely.

"Hermione, dear, I see you did go through with it. I should have expected it. You're such a determined young lady, just like your mother I may add." Aunt Minerva said softly.

I stared at her expectantly, waiting for her to realize that I needed to get up to my dorm.

"Oh right, I'm sorry. Started dozing off, didn't get much sleep last night, you know? Waiting for you to pop up unexpectedly again." I took that as an insult.

"Well, of course you'll be staying in the Gryffindor house. And since you're pretending to be a –" she paused, "…anyways, you'll be staying in the boys dormitory. But if anything, and I mean _anything_ happens, you come find me immediately. Are you sure you don't want to stay with me? It won't cause as much trouble…"Aunt Minerva said.

"I already told you, Aunt Minerva! I just want everything to be normal, I just want to learn and actually have a decent social life. I don't want everyone thinking I'm weird cause I'm staying with Professor McGonagall." I glanced over at my aunt, who looked highly offended. "I meant to say, it would be weird to stay with _any_ teacher," I added. Her expression seemed to have softened a bit, and she led me out the door.

After several diversions, including an impossibly obnoxious poltergeist, by the names of Peeves, and moving staircases, we finally reached the portrait hole, in this case, it happened to be _The Fat Lady_.

"Very well. The password is hippogriff. Miss Weasley should be waiting in the common room for you. I've got to get going, I'm late for a staff meeting. See you at breakfast!" and with that, my aunt hurriedly walked down the hallway.

"Hippogriff," I stated, loud and clear.

"Correct," said the portrait, and it swung open.

I cautiously walked through the portrait hole. And I must say, it was amazing! It had a comfort vibe. Like I was home. Unlike Beauxbatons, it made me feel like I was staying at a bad hotel room. I continued walking until I reached the common room. And I saw Ginny relaxed on one of the couches. She glanced over at my direction, and once she caught sight of me, she jumped off the couch.

"Hermione! I almost didn't recognize you! See, I told you! You could totally pass for a guy!" Ginny remarked. I wonder if that's a good thing?... Before I could say anything else, Ginny began talking again.

"Okay, well just leave your suitcase here. Let's go to breakfast, and then we can find my brother, Ron, he's in your year you know? He could help you up to the boy's dormitory…"

And with that, Ginny ran out the portrait hole, and dragged me all the way to the Great Hall.

She led me to one of the four tables, which I presumed was the Gryffindor table. Ginny took a seat across from a rather tall red-headed boy. That's probably Ron.

Ginny pulled me down, and we sat face to face with her brother and his friend, whose face was currently buried in a book. Maybe he loves to read, just like me! I'm already beginning to like Hogwarts…a lot. It seems like people here like to read…Wonder what book it is? Curiously I looked over at the book cover._ Quidditch Through The Ages_. Scratch that last thought. He's just another Quidditch fanatic.

I directed my attention back to Ginny and Ron.

"Uhm, Ginny? Who is that?" Ron said, pointing his finger rudely at me.

"Don't point, Ron! That's rude."

He immediately dropped his hand. "And, to answer your question, this is the new student, his name is uhm…" Ginny nervously glanced over at me. I took this as a signal for me to introduce myself.

"My name is err…Herm…Herman! Yeah, I'm Herman!" I said confidently. Ron looked uncertain.

"Yeah! That's his name!" Ginny shook her head, as though to confirm that was I said was indeed telling the truth. "Well anyways, he's new and he's in your year, Ron! And, uhm, Dumbledore told us to show him around and stuff. So you and Harry should help him settle in the dormitory…" Ginny finished awkwardly.

Harry? Wonder who that is…

"Well, ok," Ron responded, still with a bit of doubt. He held out his hand for me to shake, "Hi, I'm Ron, Ginny's older brother. And this is my best friend, you've probably heard of him.." He pointed to be boy sitting next to him. And as if on cue, Ron's friend looked up from his book.

Oh. My. Gosh. The green eyes. The glasses. The messy hair. The scar. This was Harry Potter! I can't believe Ginny never mentioned anything about him! I must have a talk with her later. I continued staring at him, as though he was sprouting horns on his head.

Now, I'm not that type of girl who only cares about looks. Physical appearance isn't important you know?, it's your own individual beauty matters. But in this situation, what girl wouldn't notice? He's quite handsome, and his glasses make him look really cute..and his hair is-

"Hi, I'm Harry Potter." His voice broke through my day dreams. I shakily held out my hand for him to shake. All the while, still staring at him. His eyes. His nose. His lips. I was practically drooling…

Stop it Hermione! Pull yourself together! Stop staring…he probably thinks you're a weirdo. And-

Oh lord. I forgot I was a guy now. Staring at other guys, especially Harry Potter, is strictly forbidden.

And, just like that, things became _much_ more complicated.

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Well, there you go Chapter 1! It was kinda long wasn't it? I've tried to shorten it…But I don't really know what I should cut..lol! Anyways, hope you liked it! I've already started Chp. 2...but I dunno when I'll be done. And plus, I'm going on thanksgiving vacation this weekend...I'll update as soon as possible though!

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thanks.


	3. Do I Know You?

AN- Holaaaa! Sry…I was like doing spanish homework..lol! Okay..so this is chp 2! That's all I have to say…

Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter. Why would I be writing fan fiction if I did?

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Recap:

"_Hi, I'm Harry Potter." His voice broke through my day dreams. I shakily held out my hand for him to shake. All the while, still staring at him. His eyes. His nose. His lips. I was practically drooling…_

_Stop it Hermione! Pull yourself together! Stop staring…he probably thinks you're a weirdo. And-_

_Oh lord. I forgot I was a guy now. Staring at other guys, especially Harry Potter, is strictly forbidden. _

_And, just like that, things became much more complicated._

* * *

Well, that just takes the cake for being the most awkward situation I've _ever_ been in. I couldn't help but glance over at Harry every few minutes. Wait, let me rephrase that, every few seconds. After about 15 minutes, he began to notice too! Then he would look at me, like I was a psycho, whenever our eyes met. I can't blame him though, if another girl, who I barely know, kept staring at me, drooling, I would look at them weird too!

Ginny and Ron were no help. Ginny was talking to another boy, Dean, or something like that, the whole time! What happened to the "I'll be with you the whole time!" speech she made? And don't even get me started on Ron! He was eating like there was no tomorrow! It's quite amazing actually...how he manages to stuff pumpkin pasties, mashed potatoes, treacle tarts, turkey, and who knows what else, into his mouth. And when he _tried_ to talk, the food he spit out managed to hit a poor, little Hufflepuff girl, who might I add, was sitting rather far away.

"Well, I'm full," Ron said satisfied. He better be! If he didn't stop eating soon, I was gonna to tell a professor or something, cause there's no way someone can eat _that_ much!

Ginny turned around to face us, "Thank goodness! You've been eating for ages! Can you guys bring Hermio-, I mean _Herman_, up to the dormitory? Before you guys need to go to your classes that is…I wanna stay and talk to Dean for awhile."

And with that, she pushed me, Harry, and Ron out of the Great Hall.

"I swear, if Ginny goes out with him again, I'm gonna jump into the lake, and let the giant squid eat me!" Ron said annoyed.

"Has Ginny gone out with him before?" I asked, my curiosity taking the better of me.

"Of course! They've been on and off for, like, 2 years! It's getting on my nerves! Every time Ginny breaks up with him, Dean becomes depressed, and locks himself inside our dormitory. And being as dense as he is, he forgets that he lives with _other_ people, and when we pound on the door, he thinks we're trying to get him out, so we can cheer him up!" Ron said.

Great. So far, I'm sharing a dorm with the most gullible wizard in the school, a pig who might eat me while I'm sleeping, and a guy who thinks I'm mental.

"Well, before Ron starts talking about how dense Dean is, lets go back to the dormitory…Ginny said you needed to know where to put your stuff, right?" Harry asked.

I nodded my head. It saved me the risk of talking, and saying something extremely idiotic.

Harry led me and Ron, who was apparently talking to himself about how stupid Dean is, up to the Gryffindor tower.

We were almost there, when a voice interrupted Ron's ramblings.

"Talking to yourself again, Weasley?" sneered a pale-faced boy. I glanced over at Ron, whose ears were now tomato red.

"I see Potter has gotten himself another sidekick! Well Potter, if you wanted another slave, you could have gotten a bigger, stronger one. This one's like a chipmunk!" the boy said.

A chipmunk? Who calls someone a chipmunk? Well, I suppose that's a good thing. At least he didn't see through my disguise. He just thinks I'm a really, _really_, scrawny guy.

"Shut up Malfoy!" yelled Ron and Harry at the same time.

The boy, Malfoy, ignored their comment, and instead, made his way towards me. Once he got closer, I saw his grey eyes, and his blonde hair, slicked back.

"What do you want?" I said bravely.

"Oh, I just wanted to see if you were sick or something, cause no one in the right mind would hang around Potty and Weasel!" Malfoy said.

That has _got_ to be the lamest thing I've ever heard!

Annoyed, I turned around and walked away. People like this weren't worth my time.

"I can see why you hang out with Potty and Weasel! You can't find any other friends, cause you're so _weird_!" Malfoy called after me. Oh yeah, he's soooo mature!

I kept walking, and I didn't look back. Soon enough, Ron and Harry caught up to me.

"You'll fit in with the Gryffindor just fine! We all hate Malfoy!"

Now I know I'm not the only one!

Once inside the common room, Harry showed me where our dormitory was. Evidently, it was the situated at the top of the tower. I levitated my trunk all the way up, and Harry and Ron showed me which of the four-poster beds was mine. Apparently, there were two other guys I haven't met yet, because I was five other beds besides mine. Ron saw me looking at the other beds, and pointed out which bed was whose.

"That one's mine, the one next to it is Harry's. The one over there is Dean's, next to his is Seamus's. You haven't met him yet, but you'll probably see him and Neville at dinner. Neville's bed is next yours," explained Ron.

I looked over at the bed next to mine, and cringed at the sight of it. It was un-made, and the sheets were everywhere, not to mention it smelled like all of Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Beans mixed together. And let me tell you, that's not even close to how bad it really smelled.

"Sorry, mate. No one wanted to sleep near Neville in the first place, and it's the only bed left!" Ron said sympathetically. Wow, this Neville guy must be pretty bad, for Ron to feel sorry for me!

"Well, we've got to go. You should get your schedule tomorrow morning. We have Potions now. Can't be late for that! Snape will blow a blood vessel if we're late again." Harry said, and dashed out the room with Ron.

**A Couple Hours Later**

"HERMAN!!" called Ron from the common room. I didn't register that Ron was actually talking to me until I got annoyed and started yelling for this Herman guy to go to the common room, just so Ron would shut up. And when no one answered, I realized that I was Herman. Wow. I'm almost as dense as Dean, and that's saying something.

I ran down the spiral staircase and into the common room.

"Herman! There you are! I've been calling your name for 15 minutes!" Ron said.

"Yeah! If you didn't get here soon, Ron would've lost his voice!" added Harry.

I grinned sheepishly, "Sorry, I didn't hear you!"

They looked at my suspiciously. "Anyways, it's dinner time! Hurry up! I'm starving!" Ron said eagerly.

Starving?!? His stomach probably didn't even digest all the food he ate this morning! Suddenly, I wasn't hungry anymore. I didn't feel like sitting in the front row of _Ron: The Eating Machine_ again.

"Uhm, I'm not that hungry. I think I'm gonna finish unpacking." I said.

"You're not finished unpacking yet? It's been like, 5 hours! Just throw your clothes in the wardrobe! Seriously, you're taking as much time as Ginny! Besides, you have to eat! You're too skinny anyways!" Ron said, logically.

"It's ok, if I'm hungry, I'll come down later." I said quickly.

"Well, whatever you sa-" before Harry finished, Ron had already dragged him out of the common room.

Finally, no more people. When I was unpacking, I was always scared of some guy walking in and seeing me unpacking womens' clothing. But now that everyone was at dinner, I could take my time unpacking and not be afraid of anyone walking in. I put my school robes and boy clothes into the wardrobe. I put my girl clothes into the drawer, and put a concealment charm on it. That way, no one would be able to find it. Well…since there's no one here, I better take a shower now. And with that, I hurried to the shower with my so-called pajamas, which I might add, Ginny brought for me. These pajamas she brought me consisted of sweat pants and an extremely baggy sweater. I objected at first, but Ginny said it was the only way, if I didn't want the other guys to know.

I hurried into the bathroom and locked the door. I pointed my wand at my hair, and muttered the spell Ginny taught me. And just like that, my hair changed back into my soft brown curls. My hair used to be extremely bushy, until I became friends with Ginny, and she helped me permanently tame my hair, with not even a bit of Sleekeazy's Hair Potion. Honestly, sometimes I don't know where Ginny learns these things.

I had just stepped out of the shower when I heard Ron's laughter. I froze with fear. How come they're back so soon? Maybe my shower took too long. Whatever, can't think about that right now. What I have to do now is get out of here before anyone needs to go to the bathroom. And with that, I hurriedly put on my "pajamas" and turned my hair short again.

Then I rushed out the bathroom and into the dormitory.

"Hey, Herman! You never came down to dinner! We were waiting for you, and Ginny too! She kept on pestering me and Harry about where you were. Honestly, sometimes my sister can be so annoying!" Ron sighed.

"Hey Herman!" said Harry, and I don't know why, but I blushed a little. Note to self: Do not blush when guys talk to you. "Wanna meet the others now?"

And soon enough, three boys walked into the dormitory. I recognized one as Dean, there was another boy with brownish hair, who I assumed was Seamus, because he seemed to be really good friends with Dean. And then there was Neville. I actually feel a tad sorry for him, he stumbled on the step, tripped, and fell on his face. Dean and Seamus roared with laughter. I quickly ran over and helped him up.

"Hi, I'm Herman," I said, holding out my hand for him to shake.

"I'm Neville," he said, "And thanks, I can be a bit clumsy sometimes." A bit, huh?

"Seamus! Dean!" yelled Harry.

They both turned around, spotted me, and started walking towards me.

"Hey, I'm Seamus," said the other boy, in a thick Irish accent.

"You're Herman, right? Ginny told me about you. I'm Dean, by the way."

I was about to say something, until Seamus's voice broke through, "Hey Herman? Did you take a shower, already? Who takes a shower this early? No wait, who even takes a shower? I only take one like every other day!"

Uhm…ewwwww! That's disgusting! I was speechless.

"You're sick, Seamus!" said Ron.

"What'd I say?" Seamus said, genuinely confused.

Well, it seems like I'm also sharing a room with a guy who doesn't shower! Wow. I must be the luckiest person in the world!

"Okay...well that was weird," I said.

"You can say that again!" said Harry.

* * *

**3 days Later**

**Common Room**

"Hey Hermione!!" Ginny, noticing her mistake, clasped her hand over her mouth, "I mean, _Herman_!! Not Hermione! I don't even know anyone who has the name Hermione! What kind of name is Hermione?" Ginny rambled on. Great cover-up Ginny! Not.

"What?" I said, irritated I was extremely busy with my Potions essay.

"Did you hear?? The first Hogsmeade trip is this Saturday! That's in like 2 days!" Ginny yelled, excited.

"Big deal, I don't plan on going anyways. I'd rather stay here and finish my homework," I said. I'm not weird! I'd just rather do homework, than go to a wizard village with my friends, and eat sweets, and look at shops.

On second though. Yes. I might be just a little bit strange.

"My goodness, Hermione! You're sooooo _boring_! I thought you wanted to come to Hogwarts so you could have fun! Well, this is the perfect opportunity! And get this…" Ginny said, "I talked to McGonagall about this, and she said that she could arrange for you to go...as a _girl!_"

Now that caught my attention.

"Did Aunt Minerva really say that?" I asked suspiciously.

"I swear on life! If I'm lying, I'll lock myself in the dungeons with Snape!" Ginny said, in a rather serious tone.

"Whoa there Ginny, no need to go that far!" I said. That's pure horror, that is, being locked in a dungeon with Snape. Shivers

"Well, since I now know you're telling the truth, I'm gonna go find Aunt Minerva and talk to her about it," I said. I packed up my potions book, and without another word to Ginny, skipped out the portrait hole. The Fat Lady stared at me with disbelief. Note To Self #2: Never skip when you're a guy.

"Hello? Aunt Minerva?" I called out softly.

"Is that you, Hermione?" came Aunt Minerva's voice.

I turned around and saw my aunt's tussled expression.

"Peeves was throwing dungbombs at Argus…again," Aunt Minerva said, "Anyways, I expect you're here because Miss. Weasley has already told you about my plan for you?"

"Yeah, she did. Are you serious? You're just gonna let me got to Hogsmeade, as a girl I mean, just like that?" I asked.

"Of course not, silly dear! People would be suspicious. I have arranged for you to work at Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop. Wonderful person, he is! I told him my niece was on an early Christmas Break, and that she wanted to work here on some occasions, so she could visit me!" Aunt Minerva said, rather proud of herself.

So, I would be working there the whole time. That means I couldn't look around Hogsmeade anyways. Well, back to plan A, staying in the tower and doing homework! What fun!

"Oh, don't worry dear! You only have to work there for half the day. The rest of the day you can run along with Miss. Weasley and do what ever it is young people do these days!" said Aunt Minerva reassuringly.

"I can't wait, Aunt Minerva!" I yelled, and I ran up and hugged her, "I love you!" and I, because of my excitement, skipped out the door once again.

* * *

**2 days later**

I'm soooo tired! …What time is it? I looked over at the clock next to my bed. 5:44 am. No wonder I'm tired! Even I don't wake up at 5:44 am, on a weekend! I dragged myself out of bed, and reminded myself about how I needed to hurry up. Aunt Minerva said that I should wake up early, get dressed before the other guys in the dormitory wake up, and then meet her at her office, so she could take me to Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop, and get me settled before the other students showed up. I grabbed my clothes, which consisted of a pair of slim blue jeans, and a pretty white blouse, and ran into the bathroom to dress and brush my teeth. I changed my hair back, and within twenty minutes, I was done. I ran out the door, grabbing a jacket along the way, it was like freezing outside!

I almost killed myself when I was walking across the moving staircases. I managed to fall asleep while walking, and I missed one of the steps. Thank goodness I was able to pull myself up.

**At McGonagall's Office**

"Hurry up, Hermione! You've got to move faster if you want to get there without being seen!" said my aunt, strictly. What is she? Like nocturnal? Who can be so awake in the morning? She should go into the Owerly and live with the owls.

Yeah. I'm cranky in the mornings.

I like fell asleep while Aunt Minerva dragged me all the way to Hogsmeade. Then she handed me off to an old man, Scrivenshaft, I assumed.

"Hermione, dear, behave yourself. I trust you to act responsibly. And whenever you want to come back, just change back into a boy. I left a set of clothes, in a box, for you to change into in the back. Scrivenshaft thinks it's a full of quills and paper. So whenever he goes in the back, make sure he doesn't look in there, okay?" Aunt Minerva asked.

"Yeah, yeah," I responded.

"Well, I'm off! People will be wondering where I've gone…"Aunt Minerva trailed off.

I looked over at the elderly man. "It's Hermione, isn't? Why don't you get started by dusting off the shelves? And when you're done you can begin to-" Scrivenshaft rambled on and on. This is gonna be a long day.

**A Few Hours Later**

"Hello, Welcome to Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop," I said unenthusiastically when I heard the door open.

"Hermione! It's me!" called Ginny's voice.

I turned around. Thank goodness! I was so bored, I was about to drown myself in ink.

"Can you leave yet? I wanna show you Honeydukes! Come on!" Ginny said, yanking my arm.

"I can't yet, I still got 20 minutes before I can leave!" I protested.

"Well, I'm not gonna wait around for you in _here_! I'll be waiting for you at The Three Broomsticks, alright? You should know how to get there, it's hard to miss," said Ginny. Then she walked out the store, slamming the door behind her.

Stay positive. Only 20 more minutes of this torture!

Creak. I heard the door open again. Ginny must've forgotten something…

"What do you want Ginny?" I asked, irritated, not bothering to turn around and face her.

"Uhmm…What are you talking about?" said a confused voice that sounded strangely like…

"Harry! What are you doing here?" I asked, turning around.

"Err...do I know you?" he said.

Oh, right. I was a girl now. So he doesn't know me. Arrggggg!! Just when I get a chance to talk to Harry, as in actually talk, like not have him look at me weird, he doesn't know me. Great. Just great.

"Uhm..well you're Harry Potter right? Everyone knows you!" I covered up.

Harry chuckled slightly, "Yeah, I guess you're right."

Well, better now or never.

"Hi," I held out my hand, "I'm _Hermione_ Granger."

* * *

Well, there you go. Chapter 2. So now Harry knows Hermione and Herman. I promise I'll have more interaction between Harry and Hermione/Herman next chapter!

Thanks to people who reviewed last time!

I'd appreciate it if you guys reviewed again!

See you next chapter!


	4. Meet Hermione

**AN-** Here's chapter 3! I don't really like this chapter…I had writer's block halfway through…Ron may be a little OOC this chapter, by the way.

**AND** I was going to update this sooner….I was actually done with it like yesterday, but my fanfiction was being stupid and whenever I tried to upload it onto document manager it would go like An error has occurred while processing your request. If the problem persists, please alert site admin via… and yeah..I did it like 50 times..but whatever..enough of my complaining.

**Story Of My Life**- I was like trying to upload it onto document manager right? And when it didn't work I was like shaking my computer, yelling "COME ON! PLEASE WORK!" and then when it didn't, I was all like "stupid computer!" and my mom walked by and looked at me all weird.

**Disclaimer**- I do not own Harry Potter.

* * *

Recap  
_"Harry! What are you doing here?" I asked, turning around._

_"Err...do I know you?" he said._

_Oh, right. I was a girl now. So he doesn't know me. Arrggggg!! Just when I get a chance to talk to Harry, as in actually talk, like not have him look at me weird, he doesn't know me. Great. Just great._

_"Uhm..well you're Harry Potter right? Everyone knows you!" I covered up._

_Harry chuckled slightly, "Yeah, I guess you're right."_

_Well, better now or never._

_"Hi," I held out my hand, "I'm **Hermione** Granger."_

* * *

You know what? This was actually worth waking up at 5:45 in the morning! Now, I could talk to Harry without acting like a complete loser! Great, isn't it?

"So, you say your name's Hermione?" Harry asked.

"Yeah," I answered cautiously, "Why do you ask?"

"It's just that I met a new kid at my school and his name's Herman. Your names are just similar, that's all," Harry said. I flinched slightly, but regained my composure.

"Anyways, why's a girl like you working in a place like this?" Harry questioned.

"Oh, umh…" I paused, thinking back to what Aunt Minerva said, "I actually attend Beauxbatons. I'm just taking an early Christmas Break."

"Then why are you working here, of all the places?" Harry asked.

Should I tell him the truth? It couldn't hurt…it's not like it's gonna change anything…

"Uhm...well, actually, my aunt's a professor at Hogwarts, and I'm working here so I can visit her occasionally," Well…at least some of that's true.

"Oh, really? What's her name?" Harry asked, curiously.

"Err," I hesitated, "Minerva McGonagall,"

"Professor McGonagall? Seriously? I never thought she had a life outside Hogwarts…" Harry said. He looked over at me, and saw my bemused expression.

"Err, I mean, she just seems so proper and stuff…like I never thought she would have a personal life…Well I mean I knew she did, everyone has a personal life, but I didn't like _know know_. And-" Harry stumbled, turning a light taint of red.

It was rather funny watching him acting like the nervous one for once.

"It's okay, I know what you mean," I said, relieving him of this awkward situation.

I glanced over at the old grandfather clock that lay next to the door. Wow, time really does fly! I don't really want this to end…but I promised Ginny I would meet her at The Three Broomsticks…Well, can't break a promise can I?

"Sorry, but I promised to meet a friend when my shift was over…" I trailed off.

"Oh, it's okay," Harry turned around and looked at the clock, "I've got to be meeting someone too."

I looked down at the dusty ground, disappointed. He's probably gonna go and meet his girlfriend or something at Madam Puddifoot's.

"Something wrong?" he questioned, noticing my downcast expression.

"Oh, nothing. I'm fine," I answered, putting on a happy face.

I said goodbye to Mr. Scrivenshaft, and we walked out the door together.

"Well, I'm going this way," I said, pointing to the left.

He pointed to the right, "I'm going this way."

"Then, uhm, see you next Hogsmeade weekend?" I asked nervously.

"Yeah, maybe," Harry answered.

"Well, goodbye, then," I said awkwardly.

"Bye," he replied, just as nervously as I.

I turned around and walked briskly towards The Three Broomsticks so Harry couldn't see my flushed cheeks.

That went better than I thought it would! It seemed like Harry was enjoying our conversation as much as I was! I kept replaying our talk in my head. Thinking about his laugh, and when he ruffled his already-messy hair when he was nervous…

Wow. I fell for him hard. I've never been this way around a guy before...gotta ask Ginny for advice.

I pushed open the door to the pub and scanned the tables, searching for a certain red head.

"'Mione! Over here," I heard Ginny yell from a table in the far corner.

I slid onto the chair next to Ginny and ordered a butterbeer.

"Ginny! You won't believe who came into the store while I was working!" I yelled excitedly.

"Who? Was it a cute guy?" Ginny asked curiously. Ginny _really_ is boy-obsessed.

"Actually, it was _Harry_!" I said, emphasizing Harry's name.

Ginny laughed nervously. Uh-oh. Something must be wrong.

"You're joking right? Because it just so happens that…"

Ginny was interrupted by a rather obnoxious voice.

"GINNY! WHERE ARE YOU?"

Ginny waved her hand furiously through the air. "Stop shouting, Ron! You're embarrassing me!"

"Honestly…sometimes I don't even think we're related!" Ginny muttered.

I looked over at Ron, and saw him pushing some first year boys out of his way. Ginny's right. They don't seem like they're connected to each other in anyways, except for their flaming red hair of course. But then I saw another figure following Ron, apologizing to the younger students. It can't be who I think it is…but logically speaking it has to be _him_. It must be Harry.

"Hey Ginny, order me and Harry some butterbeers, will ya?" Ron asked.

"I'm not your personal slave, _Ronald_," Ginny glared at him, "And aren't you going to say hello to my friend here?"

"What? Who are you talking abou-" Ron questioned, and finally noticed that was I sitting at the table.

Ron blushed, and "whispered", to his sister, "Ginny! Why didn't you tell me there was gonna be a girl here too?! I would've fixed my hair!"

"It wouldn't have made a difference! And by the way, I'm a girl too, you know!" Ginny replied, highly offended.

"Yeah, well you're my little sister. You don't count." Ron said as a matter-of-factly. Ouch. That must've hurt.

"Hi, I'm Ron Weasley, Ginny's brother," Ron said introducing himself.

"Hermione Granger, pleasure to meet you," I replied, pretending I didn't know him.

Ron grinned, and he began to introduce Harry.

"My friend, Harr-"

Harry cut him off, "We've met."

Ron looked at us with both confusion and hurt, like he was being left out.

"How?" he questioned, expecting Harry to answer. But instead, Ginny answered.

"Well you see, Hermione, _my very good friend_, works at the Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop and Harry seemed to have stopped by there. And it just so happens that they were having a wonderful time, _just the two of them. Alone. By themselves_," Ginny remarked, clearly trying to make her brother feel isolated. She must still be ticked off. Note To Self: Remember to never get Ginny mad.

I saw Harry glance over at Ron, "It was nothing, I just needed to buy a new quill. And we just kinda talked for a while…that's why I was late meeting you at Honeydukes."

Oh…So Harry was meeting _Ron_. That's nothing to worry about. It's just Ron.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? Potter, Weasley, and I see you dragged along the youngest Weasel with you as well," Malfoy said cruelly.

Is it just me, or does nobody notice me?

"But what do we have here?" Malfoy said to me, "What's a pretty young lady like you hanging around with this group of losers?"

Ewwww…is Malfoy actually hitting on me? He's like a complete jerk to me when I'm a guy. Boys can be so two-faced.

"I'm actually enjoying myself, uhm, Mr…." I asked, pretending I didn't know his name, Way to burst his overly large ego.

"Draco Malfoy. Of the Malfoy family, one of the only pureblooded families left. We're one of the richest wizarding families in the world." He sneered.

"Well then, _Mr. Malfoy_, thanks for the history lesson," I said, watching his cheeks burn in embarrassment, "But I was having a conversation before you _rudely_ interrupted us. So, I'd appreciate it if you would, stating it bluntly, _leave_," I said calmly.

I stared at him expectantly, and soon enough, he stalked off with his two baboons. Crabbe and Doyle or something…

"Way to go, Hermione! You sure showed that conceited moron," Ginny said enthusiastically.

I smiled and drank finished off my butterbeer.

"Do you want some more, Hermione? I could go get some for you," Ron said sweetly.

"Honestly, Ronald! Just 2 minutes ago, you were too lazy to get it for yourself," Ginny muttered.

"It's okay, I'm fine," I replied.

"It's no trouble, I need to get some for me and Harry anyways," Ron insisted. "Right, mate?" he asked his best friend.

"Yeah, whatever," Harry said nonchalantly.

Once Ron left, Harry immediately started talking again.

"I didn't know you were friends with Ginny!" Harry said energetically, "Was she the friend you said you needed to meet?"

"Yeah," I answered awkwardly, "I didn't know you were friends with Ginny either," I added, making my lie seeming more believable.

Without Ron and his big mouth here, nobody was really talking. So the whole time Ron was waiting in line, Harry and I kept stealing glances at each other, and whenever we saw the other looking we would blush. This was different from the first day we met though, cause I'm a girl this time and he's a guy. Now, when I think back to the first time we met at breakfast, I would always blush and think about how big a moron he must think I am. Argg…I've got to keep this blushing thing under control, if my cheeks keep turning red like this, it's gonna be permanent.

To make matters worse, Ginny saw us looking at each other, and started grinning maniacally. I'm headed straight towards humiliation nation.

Just then, I heard the clock chime, and I realized there was only an hour left before all the students needed to return. Aunt Minerva said I would need to leave earlier than the other students, so no one would be suspicious if they saw me going back to the castle, when they never even saw me leaving it. She said I needn't worry about Filch, she said she had it all sorted out, and that I wouldn't need to check in or anything.

I kicked Ginny's shin, and heard her curse in surprise.

"What the bloody hell was that for Hermione?" Ginny yelled, and I tilted my head towards the clock, "Ohhh."

"Well, Harry, me and Hermione have got to get going, she needs to, uhm, buy some..stuff.." Ginny said lamely.

I hurriedly dragged her off the stool and walked quickly towards the door.

"Tell Ron that I'm sorry I couldn't stick around for the butterbeer!" I yelled through the crowd to the stunned raven-haired boy. Realizing that I didn't say goodbye, I yelled through the mob of students again, "Bye, Harry!"

I think I saw him wave back, I'm not sure though, cause a rather large Ravenclaw boy stepped on my foot, and I yelped in pain, with Ginny still pulling me towards the door.

"Wow, what a rush!" Ginny said excitedly, "But really, we've got to get back to the Quill Shop, McGonagall said she would kill me if I didn't get you back in time!"

And with that, we half walked and half ran back to the shop. I bid farewell to Ginny, for she said she needed to meet with "someone" at Madam Puddifoot's. Dean, no doubt.

I snuck into the back room, and grabbed the bag in which Aunt Minerva had put my clothes. I tiptoed into the bathroom, and slipped into my guy clothes, and stuffed my girl clothes into the bag. I pushed open the door, _creakkkk_, I cringed and walked quickly down the road leading towards Hogwarts.

* * *

**Back At The Castle: Gryffindor Common Room**

_Question #9- Describe in detail what ingredients are needed to make the Befuddlement Draught._

Oh, I know this! Snape was talking about this in last week's lesson…I remember now!

The ingredients needed to concoct the Befuddlement Draught are scurvy-grass, lovage, and sneezewort. (**AN-This is a real potion, and real ingredients…I looked it up! lol**)

_Question #10- What are the effects of the Amort-_

"Hey, Herman! Didn't see you at Hogsmeade today!" Harry said. Ron was too busy stuffing his face with candy he bought from Honeydukes.

I needed an excuse, a good one for that matter. "Uhm, my folks never signed the permission form," I said casually.

"Really? That's too bad…" Harry said, "Hey..do you really wanna go there? If you really want to, I could show you a way to get there without being caught."

Interesting…I wonder what secret passageway he knows…but I better decline. Aunt McGonagall would murder me if she knew I was breaking the rules.

"No thanks…lets just say I have my own ways of getting to Hogsmeade," I said mischievously, and ironically, I was actually telling the truth. Well, some of its true.

Harry looked at me curiously, then said, "Well, me and Ron are gonna get ready for dinner now. See you later," And Harry pulled Ron up the staircase.

* * *

**Great Hall- Dinner**

"So, 'inny, why 'as tha' girl at th' 'hree bro-"

"For goodness sakes, Ron! Swallow your food before you talk!" Ginny yelled, wiping bits of steak of her face, "It's disgusting!"

Ron took a huge gulp of pumpkin juice, and swallowed all his food, "Sorry, mate," he said, wiping scraps of food off Harry, who was staring off into space.

"I meant to say, why was that girl, Hermione, at The Three Broomsticks with us today?" Ron asked.

Seamus appeared at my side. "Are you guys talking about that girl that was sitting with you guys today at Hogsmeade? She's really pretty," Seamus said randomly.

I blushed, and I saw Ginny smirk.

One of Ginny's friends, Luna, chimed into the conversation as well, "Hey, I saw her working at Scrivenshaft's! You better tell her to quit, Ginny! All the ink they sell there is really bad for your health. If you inhale the scent, your lungs clog up and you-"

Wow. Everyone seemed to know that I was at The Three Broomsticks…

"Inhaling the scent of ink won't kill you, Luna!" I objected.

Luna and I don't get along that well sometimes, but she's Ginny's friend, so she's my friend too I guess.

"Yes it will! Ask my father! He knows everything! And believe me, Ginny, you better tell that Hermione girl to quit soon!" Luna said, and stalked off to the Ravenclaw table.

"Did you say Hermione?" Harry said, all of a sudden, "Is she here or something?" Harry sat up straight and looked around the Great Hall.

Ron looked at him strangely, "Uhm, are you okay, mate? I was just asking who Hermione was."

"Oh, my mistake," Harry muttered.

I felt Ginny kick my leg, and I looked over at her. She raised her eyebrows, and mouthed the words to me, "_I think he likes you!_" I blushed, once again, and began stuffing mash potatoes in my mouth in order to stop myself from giggling. Yes, giggling, Hermione Granger _giggling_ over a guy.

Ron saw me and Ginny stifling our laughter, and blurted out, "Are you guys going out or something?

"Eww, Ron! Did you have some firewhiskey at the Three Broomsticks after I left? You know that stuff makes you all loony...!" Ginny yelled. I saw Luna glare over at us.

"Yeah, Ron. We're just friends," I added.

"Okay, good, cause if Dean found out, he would've choked himself on chocolate frogs," Ron said, "Back to the point, why was your friend, Hermione, at The Three Broomsticks with us? I've never seen her at Hogwarts before…"

"She goes to Beauxbatons, that's why. She's on an early Christmas break, and she's working at Hogsmeade. Why do you wanna know?" Ginny questioned.

"No re-, no reason," Ron stuttered nervously, his ears turning red.

* * *

**Gryffindor Boy's Dormitory- After Dinner**

Ron, Dean, and Seamus were playing Exploding Snap in the Common Room, and Neville was watching them, so it was only me and Harry in the dormitory. Harry was polishing his broom while I was reading _Magical Hieroglyphs and Logograms_, a quite interesting book I might add. Though it was interesting, I couldn't take my mind off what Ginny had mentioned at lunch. _I think he likes you_ kept echoing in my mind, until I couldn't stand it anymore.

"Hey, Harry?" I said abruptly, causing Harry to jump a little.

"Yeah?"

"What's all that talk about that Hermione girl?" I asked, "You know, during dinner? It seemed like she was all you paid attention too…" I blushed slightly when I said that.

Harry squirmed on his bed, avoiding my gaze. Then he answered, "Just this girl I met at Hogsmeade today…" Then went back to polishing his broom.

But no, I wasn't done yet. If you're gonna go for it, might as well go all the way!

"You like her?" I said bluntly.

Harry dropped the rag he was using to polish his Firebolt in surprise.

"…Excuse me?" Harry said in disbelief.

"Do you like her?" I repeated.

"Wh-. Why would you think that?" Harry questioned.

Why did I think that? Cause Ginny said so…but I can't tell him that..uhmmm…

"Because you only answered to her name during dinner!" I said satisfied with my answer.

"Well, that was only cause…I only answered to her name because they were talking and uhm…" Harry said lamely.

I looked at him expectantly, and he knew I wasn't going to stop bothering him until he gave me an answer.

"I dunno, honestly," Harry confessed, "She's really nice and pretty," I blushed, but shook it off, "But the strange thing is that I've only met her for one day, yet it seems like I already know her, you know what I mean?"

I shook my head nervously.

"Like, I've only talked to her for like a couple hours, but I feel like I've met her before…" Harry elaborated.

That's enough interrogation for one day. "Whatever you say," I said casually, "I'm going to bed now, big Ancient Runes exam tomorrow. 'Night." And I turned off the light just as Ron, Seamus, Dean, and Neville walked into the dormitory, roaring with laughter.

"Wha-" Harry began, but then shook his head and smiled to himself.

* * *

**One Week Later – Library**

_What plant allows the user to change their physical appearance for approximately two hours?_

I don't know this! We've never even talked about this in class! I must ask Professor Sprout about this later. On to transfiguration…

All of a sudden, someone slipped on to the chair next to me, "Hey..err..Herman," Ginny said, "You know, it's still kinda weird for me to call you Herman…but whatever. Hey, you know next week is Christmas Break?"

I nodded, "Yeah, so?"

"Sooooo, you going anywhere?" Ginny asked.

"Nope. Staying at school. My parents are going on a trip to Australia with some of their old classmates, and they said they wanted it to be like the _good old days_, so I volunteered to stay at school, Aunt Minerva's here anyways," I replied logically.

"Well, my mom said I could invite some friends over for Christmas. You know? To stay at the Burrow," Ginny said, "You wanna come? As Hermione, I mean."

That would be fun, staying with Ginny's large family in a cozy home, instead of being stuck at Hogwarts all alone for Christmas.

"Really?" I asked, making sure she wasn't trying to trick me or anything.

"I'm serious! You wanna come don't you? Or would you rather stay here, all by yourself, with no one to talk to, and no one to have Christmas dinner with, and no one to-" Ginny went on.

"I get it, okay? Are you sure you're mom won't mind though?" I questioned.

"Of course not! The more people there are, the happier she is!" Ginny remarked, "It's settled then, I'm gonna go and owl Mom right now! And by the way, Luna's coming too!"

Luna? Before I could object, Ginny had already run out the library.

Sometimes, that girl can be so…I can't even find a word to describe her!

I started on my transfiguration homework once again, until I heard footsteps approaching my table.

"Seriously, Herman, you shouldn't be spending so much time in the library," Ron said, disbelievingly. Harry nodded his head in agreement. Ron and Harry really are best friends.

"What are you guys doing here?" I asked, irritated. Since school started, the three of us started getting really close.

"Well, my mom just owled me and told me that I could invite some friends over for Christmas. Harry, of course, is coming, like every year. But I could also invite others and," Ron said.

"We were wondering if you wanted to come. Like stay at the Burrow with us for Christmas," Harry finished. Now, they're even finishing each other's sentences. Unbelievable.

But the big question now is if I should go as Herman or Hermione. I choose Hermione. Big shocker there!

"Sorry, I'm already going somewhere. Thanks for the offer though," I acted disappointed, "I would come, if my parents didn't want to drag me along on their vacation."

"Oh well. Maybe over the summer or something then," Harry said, "Ron and I need to go to Quidditch practice now. See you at dinner!"

"Yeah, see ya! And you really should stop coming to the library," Ron said. And they both walked out.

So I'm gonna be spending Christmas with the Weasleys and Harry. Wait a second…and Harry! I'm gonna be _Hermione_ when I'm staying there! That's a good thing and a bad thing though. I could spend more time with Harry as a girl, but then again, I would have to be careful about what I saw and such…I'm a smart girl though, I can handle.

I mean, how hard could it be? Staying with the Weasleys and Harry for awhile. It can't be that bad!

* * *

There you go! Chapter 3!  
Longest chapter yet…hope you enjoyed! This isn't my favorite chapter, writers' block. Hope you like it though!  
So what's gonna happen at the Burrow? Hmmm...  
I've been thinking about letting someone other than Ginny and McGonagall know about Hermione's secret…maybe Luna…or Ron…dunno…find out next chapter!  
The next chapter should be out fairly soon…unless my fanfiction thing gets all weird again…

**Thanks to People Who Reviewed**: Lily and James Love 4 ever. A Great and Terrible Beauty. Davek86. emeraldthefish. Gurlonthemove. FireboltPheonix. Bardlover. The Gryffindor Drummer.

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Thanks.


	5. The Burrow

AN-Thanks for the reviews…they're awesome. And some of you asked if this was gonna be a Harry/Hermione or Ron/Hermione…well it's going to be Harry/Hermione by the end…sorry Ron/Hermione shippers…I'm a total HHR shipper. lol

Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter

* * *

Recap

_So I'm gonna be spending Christmas with the Weasleys and Harry. Wait a second…and Harry! I'm gonna be Hermione when I'm staying there! That's a good thing and a bad thing though. I could spend more time with Harry as a girl, but then again, I would have to be careful about what I saw and such…I'm a smart girl though, I can handle._

_I mean, how hard could it be? Staying with the Weasleys and Harry for awhile. It can't be that bad!_

* * *

**Transfiguration Classroom-Right after class**

"Are you sure you don't mind, Aunt Minerva?" I asked, "I could stay at Hogwarts if you want. Keep you company."

"No, it's fine, dear. Enjoy your time with the Weasleys, they really are a nice family. All of them have been in Gryffindor, you know? Fine Qudditch players they are. Except for Percy that is…he was always, errr, different from the other Weasleys." Aunt Minerva remarked.

"Yeah, well, are you sure you won't be lonely?" I pressed.

"No, no! I have Albus to keep me company!" Aunt Minerva said happily.

Too much information.

"Okay..whatever you say.." I muttered. I flung my book bag over my shoulder, and walked towards the door, where Harry was waiting.

"What are you still doing here? Don't you have to get to Quidditch practice?" I questioned him.

"Ye- Yeah," he stammered, "But I've got to ask McGonagall something real quick. You don't have to wait."

Ok, well that was strange..what would Harry want to ask Aunt Minerva? I must remember to ask her at dinner today…

Hallway

"Hey, Aunt Minerva," I asked her while we were making our way towards the Great Hall for dinner, "What'd Harry ask you today, you know, after class?"

"Funny you should mention that, Hermione," (**AN-When they're alone, and Hermione's a guy, McGonagall still calls Hermione, err, Hermione)** Aunt Minerva said, "It seems that young Mr. Potter met a certain niece of mine last Hogsmeade visit."

"Uhmm..yeah…I was gonna tell you that…" I replied nervously. Desperate to change the subject, "Well, what did he ask about me?"

"It just so happens that he was wondering where my _dear, dear_ niece lived, because he wanted to owl her," Aunt Minerva mockingly, chuckling at my embarrassment.

"Well, what'd you say?" I asked curiously.

"Nothing…I said I was bust and told him to ask Miss. Weasley," Aunt Minerva said as a matter-of-factly.

"Knowing Ginny, she's probably gonna say something _extremely _idiotic. I've gotta go find her, see you later, Aunt Minerva," I called to her as I rushed down the stairs and into the Great Hall, where dinner already began.

I made my way to the usual spot at the Gryffindor table. Ron, Seamus, and Dean were in a rather intense argument about which Quidditch teams would make it the World Cup, which was quite soon. Just a couple weeks after Christmas Break. I spotted Ginny squirming in her seat next to Harry, who seemed to be asking Ginny something. Drats..I'm too late.

"What do you mean you don't know where she lives? I thought you guys were friends," Harry said accusingly.

"Err..well we are! It's just that..uhm.." Ginny stammered.

This was probably a good time to interrupt.

"Hey Ginny. Harry," I said nodding my head in acknowledgment.

"Hey, Herman," Harry said distractedly, still keeping his stern gaze on Ginny.

"Herman!" Ginny said, relieved, "Err, we were just talking about Hermione..you know what girl I told you about? Harry here was wondering where _she_ lived, so he could owl her. I told you where she lived remember?" Ginny said gritting her teeth, and she kicked me rather hard in the shin.

Oww! That hurt. I didn't say anything, but I bit my tongue to stop myself from crying out in pain. Well, for kicking me, I'm gonna watch her squirm for a bit.

"Really? You told me? I must have forgotten…why are you asking me anyways? Harry's the one that wants to know," I said mockingly.

Ginny glared daggers at me, but I pretended I didn't notice.

Harry continued to look at Ginny expectantly, until she said, "Well, it doesn't matter where she lives _currently_. It's not like you can see her anyways…" She dragged on slowly, as though contemplating whether or not to say something. "What matters is that you're staying at the Burrow over Christmas Break, right?" Ginny asked.

Harry nodded his head slowly, trying to comprehend why Ginny was asking him such a random question.

Harry's face seemed to glow when he finally understood what Ginny was saying, "You don't mean-"

"Yea. Hermione's staying at the Burrow with us for Christmas. You can spend _all_ the time you want with her. I could even conjure up some mistletoe for you if you want," Ginny said mischievously.

Harry immediately looked away, and began stuffing his face with mash potatoes.

I guess I deserve this…That reminds to me once again never get Ginny mad. I scanned the table, looking for food to eat to cover my reddening face. Not finding anything, I _almost_ convinced myself to drown myself in pumpkin juice. _Almost_, but not quite. That's probably what Ginny wanted me to do. Honestly, sometimes I have no idea why Ginny and I are such good friends.

* * *

** One Week Later- Morning Of Winter Break**

**Great Hall-Breakfast**

"When are you guys leaving?" I asked Ginny, Ron, and Harry.

"Uhmm…now what I think about it, we should be leaving in about fifteen minutes," Ron said, looking at his watch.

Shoot. That's it? I've got to get up to the dormitory and pack…why didn't I pack yesterday? Oh yeah, Ron and Seamus were up all night playing Wizard's Chess..morons.

"I forgot to finish my potions essay…I think I'm gonna go upstairs and finish it now," I said randomly.

"Essay? It's the holidays, Herman!" Ron said incredulously.

"Err, well, you know me! I always like to finish my homework early. Gives me free time to..err…read," I said lamely, realizing I didn't really have any hobbies. I've _got_ to get out more often….

Harry and Ron both looked at me strangely, but Ginny thought nothing of it, and pulled me roughly off the bench, causing Neville to spill orange juice on himself. Poor boy, really unlucky, he is.

"Well, you better get going and do some _homework_, Herman," Ginny said in an overly enthusiastic voice, then she, very clearly, winked at me. I've got to teach Ginny how to act. I mean, who winks at someone when everyone's like watching? Only a master of secrecy would do that! …I must stop her from being around Dean so much…his idiocy might rub off on her. Oh wait, it already did.

"Uhh…yea…" I said slowly, and I bid farewell to Harry, Ron, and Ginny, wishing them happy holidays, and that I would see them when classes started again.

Ginny burst out laughing when I said have a good vacation, and see you in a couple weeks **(AN- In my story, Christmas break is going to be….3 weeks I think? I was gonna make it shorter..but I wanted lots of stuff to happen at the Burrow, I might shorten it though. If I do, I'll tell you guys)**.

"Why is that funny?" Harry asked curiously.

"Cause you're actually gonna see him at the Bu-" Ginny started, until I stole a glance at her.

Jeez…how dense can someone get?

"Never mind," Ginny said quickly, and walked quickly towards the staircases, "I'm gonna go and get my trunk. You coming, Herman?"

"Uhh..yeah," I replied running after Ginny, "See you guys after Christmas break!" I called to Harry and Ron.

"Yeah, yeah," Ron answered nonchalantly "See ya!"

"Bye!" Harry called.

* * *

**Burrow- Later in the Day**

"You take care of yourself, okay? I'm sure Molly and Arthur will take excellent care of you….Watch out for the twins, though. Two of the worst pranksters I've ever dealt with," Aunt Minerva said in a serious tone. How bad could they be?

"I will, Aunt Minerva. Thanks for apparating me here. How'd you do it anyways? I thought apparition was impossible on Hogwarts' grounds. That's what _Hogwarts: A History_ says anyways…" I said logically.

"I just asked Albus for a favor. Said I needed to visit my sick nephew for while. You know what? For being one of the wisest wizards of our era, he can be a tad on the slow side sometimes," Aunt Minerva said casually.

I'm appalled. I've always thought Aunt Minerva highly respected Dumbledore. Weird…

"Uhh…okay then…" I said sarcastically, "I'll owl you every once in awhile, okay? Tell you what's going on and such."

"That's fine. You don't have to owl me _that_ often. I'll be quite _busy_ over break…" Aunt Minerva said nervously.

One word. Awkward.

"…I think I'm gonna go now, Aunt Minerva," I replied quickly, trying to get away from my deranged aunt, "Mrs. Weasley should be waiting, right?"

"Yes, she is," Aunt Minerva answered, just as quickly, "I'll be going now." And without another word, she apparated, leaving me standing outside the Burrow.

Why's she in such a rush to get back to Hogwarts? Maybe back to Dumbledore to…

Ewwwww. Sick thoughts….I'm scarred for life.

I shook my head, clearly my head of any, errr, images, still in my head.

I took time to gaze at the Weasleys' home, which looked like a lopsided hotel. I'm amazed it's not tipping over.

Well, here goes nothing.

I knocked on the door lightly. _Knock. Knock._

Within two seconds, the door flung open, revealing a rather plump woman with flaming red hair. No doubt, this was Mrs. Weasley.

"Hi, Mrs. Weasley. You probably don't know me, but I'm Ginny's friend…" I said awkwardly. I just stood there like a complete moron pulling my trunk behind me, for what seemed like 5 minutes. And when she didn't respond, I continued, "Err..my name's Hermio-"

And all of a sudden, Mrs. Weasley's face immediately shined with excitement, "Oh, of course!! Hermione! Ginny told me one of the Beauxbatons friends would be coming. I expected you to be somewhat different though. You know, I my daughter-in-law that went to Beauxbatons. Quite a snob- I mean, errr, it doesn't matter," Mrs. Weasley said hurriedly, "Come in, come in!" and she yanked me in through the old doorway.

"I didn't expect you so soon," Mrs. Weasley said, but then noticed my embarrassed face, "No need to worry! It's quite alright. I was beginning to get lonely by myself anyways. Ginny and the others should be here soon." She paused to look over at the clock. I glanced over as well, and noticed the hand with Ginny and Rons' face pointed at traveling.

"Are you hungry? I could whip up some soup for you if you want," Mrs. Weasley asked kindly. I thought about it, but decided against it. It'd be kinda weird sitting there eating by myself.

"Thanks, but I think I'll wait for the others," I replied.

"Do you want to unpack your stuff, then? Ginny's room near the top, just follow the stairs, and you should hit it. It might be a little cramped though. You'll be sharing with Ginny and another friend of hers…Lana?"

"Luna," I corrected.

"Yeah, that's what I meant," said Mrs. Weasley, her ears turning red. No wonder Ron and Ginny's ears turn red when they're embarrassed…family thing.

* * *

**30 Minutes Later**

I'm sure Ginny and Luna won't mind me taking up _another_ drawer...So, I stuffed the rest of my clothes in. I flopped onto the tiny bed, the stomach rumbling. I should have taken Mrs. Weasley's offer…For some reason, Ginny and the others were late. They were supposed to be here 20 minutes ago. Then, all of a sudden…

"Hermione! Sorry, we're late. Dad hit a fire hydrant while he was driving." Ginny said, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Then Luna barged into the room as well. "It's those darn jungibees! They take over your body and cause you to do foolish things! It must have taken over your father, Ginny!" cried Luna.

"Rubbish," I muttered to myself.

Luna glanced over, and saw me standing there. "What are _you_ doing here?" asked Luna, mockingly.

"I invited her," said Ginny calmly.

It's strange. It doesn't matter if I'm a guy or a girl. Luna and I still don't get along.

Then, out of the blue, Luna asked me, "Are you feeling okay?"

"Of course I'm fine," I snapped.

"You know, ink fumes can kill you! Haven't you been reading _The Quibbler_? They talked all about it last issue," Luna said, as a matter of factly.

"Well, you know what? I'm feeling perfectly fine," I said, annoyed.

Ginny looked at us with worried eyes….Great. Now she's making _me_ feel bad. Well, since she invited me to stay here, I might as well do something in return. Like be nice to Luna. No matter how dreadful it is.

"But I know some people who got, err, poisoned, by..uhmm..ink," I muttered awkwardly, "I'm probably immune."

Wow, Hermione. Great lie. Being immune to ink.

Luna looked at me strangely, then said, "I'm getting hungry. Do you think your Mom could cook some dinner?" to Ginny.

That's the most logical thing I've heard Luna say today. I'm starving.

"Yeah, of course!" said Ginny, relieved.

And so, the three of us walked down the cramped staircase all the way to the last floor, where Mrs. Weasley was bustling across the kitchen, barking orders at all the men. It seems that the whole Weasley clan arrived while I was upstairs.

"FRED, GEORGE! STOP FEEDING THE TOMATOES TO THE GNOMES!" yelled Mrs. Weasley to two identical red-haired boys, who grinned sheepishly at their mother. Must be the twins Aunt Minerva told me about…

"Bill, go get Fleur, okay? And Charlie! Go get Percy from his room, will you? He's locked himself in there since he got home," she said, with concern in her voice.

"He's probably writing to his secret lover, Mom! You know, Filch?" exclaimed Fred-or- George.

The two older brothers, Charlie and Bill, I think, burst out laughing. But I don't get what's so funny. Honestly, I feel bad for Ginny sometimes…being stuck in a family full of boys.

"Oh, Hermione, dear," Mrs. Weasley acknowledged, "Take a seat somewhere. Dinner should be ready soon." So Ginny and I walked down the hall, over to the couch, and sat down, when Mrs. Weasley yelled over to us. Luna had disappeared…she probably ran off to find the gnomes.

"Ginny!" her voice echoed, "Go help Ron set the table will you? And Harry," I heard her say, "Go sit down somewhere. You're probably really tired…Take a seat next to Ginny's friend, Hermione, if you like. She's down the hall."

Ginny sighed, got up and walked out of the room, leaving me there by myself. A couple seconds later, I heard footsteps making there way down that hall. Soon after, Harry's head popped up from the side of the door. He slowly made his way across the room, and sat down awkwardly next to me. The couch seems a lot smaller now…he's just a couple inches away….I could scoot over just a bit…

"Err..Hi," Harry said, breaking my day dreams.

"Hey," I replied nervously.

We sat there, for what seemed like an eternity, just waiting for the other to speak up.

"Uhm, I didn't know you were going to be here," Harry said hopefully, trying to start conversation.

What is he talking about? He knew very well I was going to be here…Maybe he's just as nervous as I am…Yeah, right. He probably doesn't even want to talk to me…

"Oh, really? I didn't know you were going to be here either," I lied.

A blanket of silence covered us once again, so I looked around the room to occupy myself. I glanced over at the door, where I saw an _ear_ sticking out. Yes, a human ear. Well, not an _ear ear_. It was an ear, attached to a long, fleshy, piece of string.

I glanced over at Harry, "What in the worl-"

Harry cut me off, "Nice weather we're having, aren't we?" He said nervously.

I looked out the window. It was raining. "What are you talking about? It's raining…" I replied confused. Then I grabbed him by the shoulders, and turned him to face the door. "You see it?" I asked, pointing at the door.

"Uhm, no," Harry said, nervousness still in his voice. I glanced over at the door. The ear was gone.

"Nevermind," I muttered. Did I imagine it? Before I could figure out whether or now I was mental..Ron burst through the door.

"TIME FOR DINNER!" Ron yelled. No need to yell…you're only four feet away…

"Yeah, okay," Harry replied, "Come on," he said, pointing me to the door.

Ron blushed when he noticed me there, and said quietly, "Hey, Hermione."

"Hey," I replied. It was so weird…Ron's never this polite to me. Boys and their hormones…

The three of us made our way into the kitchen, where a tornado seemed to have hit. Pots and pans were flying everywhere, forks and knives were soaring. One of the knives almost hit Charlie's, errr, privates. That would not have been a pretty sight.

"Oh, hello, Hermione, Harry," Mrs. Weasley said kindly, "We're gonna be eating outside, it's much too crowded in here." And she pushed us towards the backyard, where a long table was set with 13 chairs.

Luna and Ginny were already seated at the table, along with Fred and George—who seemed out of breath for some reason-- and Bill and Fleur. Looking at them made my eyes water, they were so…sappy. Bill was feeding Fleur mash potatoes like a baby. Get a room.

Mr. Weasley and Charlie were in the kitchen, helping Mrs. Weasley carry the rest of the dishes outside. Within five minutes, all 13 of us of situated at the table. Mr. Weasley at the head of the table, next to Mrs. Weasley. Percy came next, then Luna. Not surprisingly, Luna was the only person that Mrs. Weasley could get to sit next to Percy. Next to Luna was Ginny, then myself. And to my disgust, on the other side of me was Fleur., and next to her, of course, was Bill. Great. How am I supposed to eat now? Next to Bill was Charlie, then Fred and George, Harry, and finally Ron. Ironically, Harry was sitting straight across from me, and Ron was diagonal. Oh great, Ron..he's probably gonna spit food at me again.

"Help yourselves!" said Mrs. Weasley, and scooped up some vegetables onto her plate. Soon after, Mr. Weasley, Ron, Fred, George, Bill, and Charlie dived into the food. I can see where they get their manners….

When they were done piling their plates, Ginny, Luna, Percy, Harry, and myself slowly put some food on our plates. Curiosity took the better of me, and I glanced over at Fleur.

I wish I had a time-turned…cause I could've lived without seeing _that_.

Dinner was actually going well. Except Mrs. Weasley was like force feeding me.

"Hermione, dear, you're much too skinny. Eat up," Mrs. Weasley said. And I'm not the only one. She was practically forcing food down everyone's throat. Except for Fleur that is. I get the feeling that Mrs. Weasley doesn't like her very much…

I was mostly talking to Ginny and Luna the whole time, but I couldn't help but notice Fred and George harassing Harry. They kept on whispering things to him, and they would always look over at me, grinning mischievously. Then Harry would turn red, shake his head, and turn away. But they didn't stop. It got so bad that Harry had to excuse himself to the bathroom before Fred or George slipped veritaserum into his pumpkin juice. Ron was too busy eating to notice.

"Hey, Ginny? Do you know what your brothers are talking to Harry about?" I questioned.

"Probably something stupid. Or asking him ideas for their joke shop," Ginny said logically.

"Joke shop? The actually own a _joke shop_?" I said sarcastically.

"Yeah, Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. It's doing quite well too. They sell everything there…Skiving Snackboxes, Pygmy Puffs, Extendable Ears, Fake Wan-"

"_Extendable ears_?" I asked incredulously.

"Yeah…they're used to eavesdrop on people, you know? We have them laying across the house everywhere. We use them to listen in on Mom and Dad sometimes…" Ginny trailed off.

"Is it a long, fleshy piece of string, with an ear at the end?" I asked, thinking back to the ear I saw when I was on the couch with Harry.

"Yeah, they are! How'd you know?"

"Well, when I sitting over there with Harry…you know after you left? I saw an ear sticking out from the door! I thought I was going mental!"

Ginny started laughing, "It was probably Fred and George listening in on you guys!"

"Not funny, Ginny!" I objected, "Why would they want to eavesdrop on _us_ anyways?"

"I have no clue," Ginny said, but then added, "I have my own supply of extendable ears, you know? We could do our own share of eavesdropping after dinner…."

* * *

**After Dinner**

And that was how Ginny and I wound up crouched up in the bathroom, our heads pushed together towards the ear, straining to hear the conversations going on downstairs, in Fred and George's room.

"I've got to go to the bathroom, you guys," I heard Ron's voice say.

Bathroom? "We should go, Ginny!" I whispered urgently.

"There's another one downstairs..Ron wouldn't come to this one," Ginny whispered back, "Now be quiet! I can't hear what they're saying!"

I heard the door slam shut. What's wrong with Ron? How could he have not seen the ear? Well, not my problem. It's a good thing he didn't see it. Or Ginny and I would be in big trouble.

"Now that Ron's gone," said Fred-or-George slyly, "Let's get down the business."

"What, err, business?" Harry asked nervously.

"The business..or should I say, the problem is, Harry. You're worst than Ron when it comes to talking to girls. And that's saying something!"

"Wha-What are you talking about?"

"Everyone can tell you like that Hermione girl!"

"I do not!" I heard Harry say quickly.

"You're even worse at lying!" said Fred or George, "It's soooo obvious. That's why you were so nervous you couldn't say anything when you were in the living room with her!"

"So it _was_ you guys! You know, she saw the ear! And I made some lame excuse to save your arses! I told her we were having nice weather!"

"What's so bad about that?" Fred or George asked stupidly.

"It's raining!" yelled Harry.

Then Fred and George burst out laughing.

"It's not funny! She probably thinks I've gone mental!"

"We'll make it up to you! We'll conjure up some mistletoe for you, okay? You can snog her senseless!" And then they burst out laughing again.

"Shut up!" I heard Harry yell.

By this time, I was blushing so fiercely, my face was as red as a tomato.

"You're such a prude!" I heard Fred or George say.

Harry was about to say some, errr, foul language, until Ron burst through the door.

"You guys, look! Isn't that one of your extendable ears?" Ron yelled.

"What are you talking about?" I heard Fred or George say, then I heard walking towards the door.

"Ginny!" I whispered, "Pull the ear back in!"

"Okay, okay!" she said, and tugged on the fleshy piece of string.

"Hurry! They're pulling it back!" I heard someone say.

Soon after the ear was safely back in Ginny's pocket, rapid footsteps began making their way towards us.

"Let's go!" I whispered urgently.

"No time! They'll know it was me!" Ginny said, scared, "They'll murder me!...unless…"

I waited for her to continue, "When they come pounding on the door, just say you're taking a shower or something okay? They won't dare come in!"

Before I could object, the pounding on the door that Ginny predicted came.

"GINNY! We know you're in there!" Fred or George yelled.

"I'm friends with you and all, Ginny. But if you heard any of that, I'll- I'll…" Harry stuttered.

Ginny mouthed to me, "Hurry up!"

"Uhmm..It's Hermione actually….not Ginny. I'm kinda taking a shower. Me, Hermione, not Ginny!" I said lamely.

I saw Ginny slap her forehead in frustration.

I heard Harry and Ron laugh nervously, "Sorry, our mistak-"

"No, no, no," Fred or George said mockingly, "I don't hear the water turned on!"

"That's cause I just finished! I'm changing now!" I lied.

"Oh, really? How do we know you're not lying about that too?" Fred or George yelled back.

"Just let it go," I heard Harry whisper, "Ginny's not in there!"

Fred and George ignored them, "Well?" they said.

"Aguamenti," Ginny whispered, and a stream of water sprouted out from her wand. She directed it towards my hair, I opened my mouth to scream, but she covered it, "Be quiet!" She pulled my shirt up over my damp hair, leaving only my tank top. I opened my mouth in protest, but let her go on with it. She grabbed a towel then wrapped it under my armpits, and pushed the straps of my tank top down. So from the waist up, it seemed like I had just come out of the shower! Smart, Ginny, really smart.

I opened the door, and stuck my head out, far enough for them to get the idea that I had indeed been taking a shower.

"Happy now?" I asked, making my voice sound rude.

Ron and Harry blushed furiously, while Fred and George looked highly amused.

"Actually, yes. Yes we are," Fred or George said mockingly.

They are sooo perverted.

Ron looked over at me, "Let's go!" he muttered, and dragged Fred and George down the stairs.

"Sorry," Harry said meekly, and hurried after them.

I closed the door, and slid to the floor in relief.

"You're getting good at lying, Hermione! I've taught you well!" Ginny said confidently.

"Yeah," I said breathlessly, "What a rush…"

Ginny chuckled, "The next three weeks are going to be soooo fun!" she said excitedly. And she pulled me up from the ground, "Come on, let's go! Before they come back!"

I obligated, and followed her up the stairs. The coming weeks _are_ going to be fun…but they're also gonna be _extremely_ awkward….

* * *

Chapter 4! Sorry for the late update! I've been busy…so much homework. And I went to a High School Musical Concert over the weekend too, for those of you that liked that movie! lol! I saw planning on Luna finding out about Herman this chapter, but I didn't feel it was the right time yet. So yeah…

Thanks for the reviews! Someone said it would be funny it a real girl started liking Herman…that's a great idea! I might put it in later on…if anyone has any other suggestions, please tell me! Till chapter 5, Bye!

Thanks To People Who Reviewed: HeartAngel. Lily and James Love 4 Ever. Gurlonthemove. The Gryffindor Drummer. hpworld47. Bardlover. egocentric-theorem. dbzgtfan2004.


	6. Hot Chocolate and Marshmallows

AN- SORRY. For the late update. I'm not gonna lie…I got kinda lazy. lol. I'm on winter break and since I didn't have any homework I got lazy. so yeah..when school starts again I think the updates will come sooner. I think. lol

Important. Thanks AquaRius, for catching my mistake. For those of you that didn't notice, I said that when Harry was talking to Hermione, he said they were having nice weather, but it was actually raining. And then they like ate dinner outside. lol. My mistake!

Oh yeah, we're in 2007 now!! Yay! Hope you all had a nice New Year's Day!

**ALSO**- For those of you that don't know yet, the seventh Harry Potter book is going to be called **Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows**. So yeah, just passing the news along.

Onto Chapter 5!

Disclaimer: I do now own Harry Potter, or anything related to it.

* * *

Recap:

Ginny chuckled, "The next three weeks are going to be soooo fun!" she said excitedly. And she pulled me up from the ground, "Come on, let's go! Before they come back!"

I obligated, and followed her up the stairs. The coming weeks _are_ going to be fun…but they're also gonna be _extremely_ awkward….

* * *

Well, it's been a week since I've arrived at the Weasleys'. Nothing exciting really happened, compared to the shower/extendable ears incident. The only thing that surprised me from the seven days that I've been here is that I've befriended most of the Weasleys plus Luna. I expected that the whole time I would be around Ginny, occasionally Harry and Ron, and Luna I suppose. But surprisingly, I seemed to "click" with everyone.

Luna and I aren't at each other's throats anymore. I think I'm starting to warm up to her just a bit.

Ron and Harry and I became fast friends. I would even go as far as to say we were best friends. We knew each others every thought and we could immediately tell when one of us was in a bad mood. Ron and Harry didn't even think it was weird that we became such fast friends….well, I guess it's better if they don't ask questions.

Bill and Charlie are really nice. They're like my _mature_ older brothers. Always there to talk to. I don't get why Bill chose Fleur though. The whole time she's been here, I've completed ignored her. You can't expect me to forget all those years at Beauxbatons when she treated horribly!

I'm on neutral terms with Percy. All we really did was talk about _Hogwarts: A History_ a couple of times. I feel quite sorry for him actually, having to suffer Fred and George's taunts.

And now for Fred and George. They're the older brothers I didn't really want, but I like them anyways. Since the week I've been here, I've actually learned to tell them apart. Don't ask me how. I just _can_. Surprisingly, they're really clever. Coming up with things that I've never even dreamed up. Weird ideas, but ideas nonetheless. And they can't seem to let down the bathroom incident either! I think I'm going to go mad if they bring it up every 10 minutes!

Onto a different subject, it's Christmas Eve today! Good thing I ordered everyone's present pre-wrapped from Diagon Alley!

"Good morning," I said cheerfully to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley as I made my way towards the table where breakfast was already prepared.

"Good morning, dear," Mrs. Weasley replied, treating me as though I really was her daughter, "You're up early! Usually it's just me and Arthur…and Percy, too!" she added at the end.

Percy? I looked around the room and saw him sulking in the corner of the room.

"What's wrong with him?" I asked curiously.

"Well, it seems that Fred and George were right. He's still trying to get over his broken heart," Mrs. Weasley said dramatically.

"Wait…Percy really was going out with Filch?!?!" I yelled.

"No, no! Of course not!" Mrs. Weasley said appalled, "It's Penelope Clearwater. They've been together since their fourth year…" she trailed off.

"Oh," I said relieved. For a second there, I really thought Percy and Filch were….

Ewww. Bad thoughts, Hermione! And before I could imagine more, errr, images, Fred and George bounced down the steps, breaking the silence.

"Good morning!" they yelled loudly, causing Percy to jump up in surprise.

"A little jumpy this morning, aren't ya, Percy? Still scared that Penelope's new boyfriend's gonna beat you up again?" George said mockingly.

Beat up? Poor, Percy. Sometimes I really do feel sorry for him.

"Oh, don't bother him, George! He might try and kill himself by jumping off his broomstick again!" Fred laughed heartily, "Make sure you don't land on the gnomes again, Perce!"

I stared at the both of them quizzically, "What happened?"

Fred turned around and said, rather loudly, "Well you see, around two weeks ago, Percy received a letter from his girlfriend, Penelope Clearwater."

"Yeah?" I said annoyed, "Get to the point!"

"Calm down! I'm getting there!" Fred said snapped, "Well, she said she wanted to break up with Percy because she found a new boyfriend, who was bigger, better, and stronger. And Percy took it hard…I mean, she was his first.."

"And last," George peeped.

"And last," Fred repeated, "Girlfriend. And so, being the intelligent man he is, Percy decided to go to Penelope's house and win her back. And it turns out, her new boyfriend's this humongous guy! Almost as big as Hagrid!"

"Yup." George said, nodding his head in agreement, "And then, of course, he pounded the pulp out of Percy!"

"Yeah…poor chap. When he got home, he tried to kill himself by jumping off his broomstick! And he's such a terrible flier, Percy is. He wound up jumping into a pile of sleeping gnomes." Fred laughed.

"Then when Mom went out into the garden, she saw him sprawled on the ground, with the gnomes throwing pebbles at him. Then she apparated them to St. Mungos, where he had to explain what happened to _everyone_ there!" George said hysterically.

"It was bloody hilarious!" yelled Fred.

"SHUT UP!" roared Percy.

Fred and George were about to reply, until Ginny, Luna, Ron, Harry, Charlie, and Bill poured down the stairs. So basically everyone except for Fleur, who needs her so called "beauty sleep."

"Good morning," everyone chimed.

Everyone settled in at the table for breakfast, and it went by without any problems. Except for the occasional times when George flicked scrambled eggs at Percy. Who, I might add, decided not to object.

Once everyone was finished, I excused myself to go finish my homework.

"Where are you going?" asked Ginny.

"I'm gonna finish my homework," I replied logically.

"Why?" Ron said incredulously.

Well, that's easy for him to say. He's probably just going to copy _my_ homework when we get back to school anyways.

"Just _because_," I said annoyed.

"But we were going to play Quidditch!" Harry objected.

"More the reason to go!" I replied, "I don't fly!"

"You don't fly?" Harry said incredulously, "What do you do in your life?" Harry immediately slapped his hand over his mouth, "I didn't mean it like _that_…"

"I have far better things to do than waste my time flying around on a piece of wood!" I snapped.

I turned on my heels and stomped up the stairs. I was about halfway up until I felt someone grab my arm.

"Let go," I said rudely.

"Sorry," the person mumbled, letting go of my arm. It was Harry.

"Well, what do you want?" I asked coldly. I'm still ticked about the 'having no life' comment, you know?

"I was going to ask you come and play Quidditch with us," he said softly, scared I was going to get mad again, "They all want you to play. It was either me coming to get you, or Fred and George!" He said defensively.

Fred and George? I can just imagine them flinging me over their shoulders and dragging me down the stairs.

"Oh…well thanks," I muttered.

"So you're not mad at me anymore?" Harry asked softly.

"Of course not, Harry! You're one of my _best friends_! I could never stay mad at you!" I said incredulously.

Harry looked down at his feet, "Right…best _friend_," he muttered.

I looked at him quizzically, "Yeah…" I said, waiting for him to say something.

Harry shook his head, then looked up at me, "So, you wanna play Quidditch with us?"

"I guess. If I don't Fred and George would probably tie me up and drag me down there anyways!" I chuckled, lightening the mood.

Harry and I forgot all about our fight earlier so we began talking and joking around again like the best friends we were. Even though I wish we were _more_ than frien-

What am I thinking? Harry's just a friend, remember? Guys and girls can be friends without anything happening between them! But somehow, that doesn't feel _right _between me and Harry. I kept contemplating that thought until we reached the backyard, where Fred, George, Ginny, and Ron already had their brooms standing next to them. While Luna was sitting on the grass, reading _The Quibbler_.

"Finally!" said Fred, exasperated, "Took you long enough!"

"Here," Ginny tossed me a rather filthy-looking broom, "You can use Percy's broom. Bill and Charlie don't like people riding their brooms…and Percy doesn't really care anymore."

"Hold on, why doesn't Luna have to fly?" I asked.

"Have you seen Luna fly? She's like a danger hazard!" Ginny replied seriously.

"Uhm...anyways..in case you forgot. _I don't know how to fly_," I said to Ginny, hoping she wouldn't make me play with them, "_And _I'm scared of heights." I added at the end.

Ginny was about to reply until Fred and George suddenly appeared at our side. It gets kinda creepy..they're not even using magic!

"Well, dear sister, you can ride with one of us!" Fred said as a matter-of-factly.

"Ginny already knows how to fly, dimwit!" I said incredulously, "How can you not know your own sister can fly?"

"I wasn't talking about her!" Fred said, offended, "We were talking about you!"

"Don't you consider us you caring, loving, and _devilishly _handsome brothers?" George asked, mockingly.

"Uhm..no. Not really," I replied curtly, even though I kinda did consider them my brothers..except for the devilishly handsome part, that is. I just wanted to get them ticked.

"I'm offended, dear Hermione!" Fred said.

"It's okay. We forgive you!" George replied, "You can ride with me!"

And with that he grabbed me from waist and flung me over his shoulder.

"Let me down!" I yelled, "You're crushing my rib cage!"

He ignored this and dropped me onto his broomstick.

"What am I supposed to do now?" I said, suddenly afraid. Was he serious taking me up in his broomstick?

"I'll do all the work! Just sit tight!" George said, "…actually, not _that_ tight," he added, grinning mischievously.

What on earth is he talking about?

Before I could say anything else, we were already up in the arm. I quickly wrapped hands around the broomstick, hoping I wouldn't fall.

"You have to grab me around my waist if you don't wanna fall," George chuckled, clearly trying to embarrass me.

I didn't answer. I was too scared to say anything. We're like a hundred feet off the ground! If I fall now, I'll be pulp!

I was about to listen to George's advice and grab onto him until I saw Fred wink at George. George nodded his head, and yelled, "Hey Fred! Pass me the quaffle!"

They're onto to something…

"Okay!" Fred yelled back, and tried to throw us a ball, but missed by about ten feet. Idiot.

I thought George would let it go, but instead he dove after it. And being, well, George, he managed to 'forget' I was sitting with him, and pulled the broomstick into a spiral. And then…

I fell.

I thought I was seriously going to be squashed into the ground. I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping at least I wouldn't _see_ myself getting pounded into the ground.

But then, I fell on Ron. Yeah, I couldn't believe it myself. I quickly wrapped my arms around Ron, so I wouldn't fall off again.

"Oh my goodness! Ron you won't believe how scared I was! I seriously thought I was going to-" I cut myself off.

"Ron? What's wrong?" I asked, concerned. His face was, like, the shade of a tomato. Maybe he has like a fever or something…

"Ron? Are you okay?" I asked again, looking him in the eye.

"Err…ye-yeah!" he stuttered, then he started zigzagging across the sky. He was like completely out of control! I thought he was on the Quidditch team!

"Weasley is our king!" I heard Luna yell from the ground, which was quite far down, I might add. Weasley is our king? What does that mean….

And then, I fell off again. Yeah, again. Due to Ron's reckless flying, I actually managed to fall off again!

I braced myself for impact once again. If I don't die, I swear I'll donate all my money to charity!

And then, I fell on yet another broomstick. Well not really fell. He kinda flew towards me and caught me. Same thing. I guess it's time to empty out my bank account!

"Phew," I let out a sigh of relief, and glanced at my savior.

And, lucky me, it was Harry. Finally. I landed on a decent flier.

I was about to thank him, until I looked down again. Luna looked like an ant! I quickly clamped my arms around Harry like a bear. I don't care if he's suffocating! I cannot deal with another fall like that.

I shut my eyes, and whispered to Harry in a soft, trembling voice, "Harry? Can you bring me down now?"

"Yeah, sure," Harry said soothingly.

And he slowly lowered us to the ground. I carefully got of his Firebolt and stepped onto the ground. Oh, how good it feels to be on solid ground again!

"You okay, Hermione?" Harry asked concerned.

"Ye-Yeah," I said, my voice still a little shaky, "Thanks for catching me, by the way," I added, looking at him.

Turning red in the face, he replied, "No problem." He's probably flushed from flying…

Harry led my by the arm, back towards the Burrow. "Let's go get some water."

I nodded my head, and looked back at the others.

"Good job, George!" I heard Fred say sarcastically, "I told you to drop her on Harry! Not Ron!"

"Well, how was I supposed to know? Ron just so happened to be in the way!" George snapped.

"Good thing he got nervous though!" said Fred, "If he didn't, Hermione wouldn't have fell on Harry, and our plan wouldn't have worked!"

"Yeah! And did you hear Luna singing 'Weasley is our King'? That was bloody brilliant!" George laughed.

The two maniacs ended their conversation when Ron came up to them, and they burst out laughing.

So it was all there fault, huh? Why would they do that? Are they like Ginny? Do they seriously think I like Harry? Well, they're sadly mistaken. Harry and I have a strictly platonic relationship!

* * *

The Next Day Christmas Morning

"There! Perfect," I said happily. I woke up extra early this morning to put my presents under the tree, since I went to sleep really early last night. After my 'flying' incident. Which reminds me, I've got to talk to Fred and George about that…

I looked down at my watch. 7:30. It's still early…I'll just take a little nap for now….

Thirty Minutes Later

I awoke to Ginny shaking me by the shoulders, "Hermione! Wake up!"

"I'm awake! Calm down!" I yelled, agitated.

"Well, so-rry!" Ginny said, stressing on the word sorry, "I just thought you might wanna be _awake_ when we opened presents!" she said, pouting.

"Yeah, yeah," I said lazily, still groggy from my nap.

Ginny left and hurried over to the tree with everyone else, arguing over the presents.

I just sat there, waiting for everyone to eventually get to their present and go somewhere else. I sat there for quite awhile, and it was quite tempting to just run over there and begin wrestling the others, as everyone was doing now. But being the dignified woman and I am, I waited through the happy 'This was just what I wanted!' exclamations and the forced 'Errr…thanks. I really like it?'

Finally, when it was only Harry and Ron left, I got up from my seat and hurried over. Most of the remaining presents were for me, but some were presents abandoned by their owners, for they weren't…errr…the best presents you could get. One of the discarded presents I found was a pack of Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Beans. Except, the only kind of bean in this pack seemed to be booger….I picked it up and examined it. _To Percy_ was scribbled on the back.

"PERCY! Did you get your present?" I heard the anxious twins yell.

Three guesses on who gave Percy _that_ present!

I threw Percy's present to the side and gathered all of my presents.

I hastily unwrapped them, revealing the hidden goods.

After about twenty-five minutes of intense present-opening, I laid down all my gifts in admiration. This year, I actually received decent presents. Unlike last year, when I stayed at school, Beauxbatons at the time, and all I got was some presents from family, and Ginny, of course. Unless you count the jinxed presents I received from Gabrielle and her posse.

I've received a variety of gifts, actually. Mrs. Weasley knitted me a sweater, as she did with everyone else and Aunt Minerva sent me a book on transfiguration. My parents, of course, sent me a whole package of dental care. Ranging from minty floss to whitening toothpaste. They even gave me extra to hand out to everyone else. I'd better save some and give them to Fred and George later…

Percy didn't get anyone anything, except for his mother of course. And Fleur didn't get me anything as well. Figures. I didn't get them anything either. Both Charlie and Bill got me all sorts of candy…Every Flavored Beans, chocolate frogs, as well as other sweets.

I expected the twins to get me something useless and extremely idiotic…And they did. Fred and George got me a box of their famous Patented Daydream Charms. It even came with a note:

_Don't use it for anything _that _inappropriate now, dear Hermione! Love, Fred and George_

Ginny got me a rather cute pair of shoes. And believe me, I usually don't approve of Ginny's clothes, but these shoes really were my taste. Ron got me a rather rancid-smelling perfume. But it's the thought that counts, right?

Harry got me the most spectacular gift of all.

He got me a dazzling pair of diamond earrings.

And, okay, I'm not a girl who loves to dress up and wear accessories and stuff. But this was unbelievable. No one, not even my parents, have ever gotten me anything like this.

I quickly got up from the floor searching for Harry. I wanted to thank him for his wonderful gift. But he was nowhere in sight, nor was Ron. They probably went to their room to unwrap their presents. I began making my way towards the stairs when Mrs. Weasley called my name.

"Hermione, dear!" Mrs. Weasley yelled, and motioned me over to her.

"Did you like your present?" she asked.

"Yeah, it's great," I said sincerely, I mean, she took the time to hand-knit this for me, and that makes it that much more special.

"Glad you like it," she replied, "That's not why I asked you to come over here though. I was actually wondering if you would go to the store with Arthur and Ginny to get some groceries. Albus and your aunt are coming for Christmas dinner tonight, and I wanted to prepare more food." **(AN- They all know that McGonagall's Hermione aunt. And also, I don't know if, like, wizards need to buy groceries..but I kinda needed Hermione to get out of the house, so getting groceries was the only thing that came to mind. lol) **

I didn't really want to go, but she was so kind to have me over that I couldn't refuse, "Yeah, I'd be glad to. But can I go find Harry first? I've got to tell him something," I said urgently. For some reason, I was really excited to see Harry…maybe because I wanted to ask him why he got me such an extravagant gift…maybe he likes me…. Nah…Harry would never like me…we're just best friends. He even said that yesterday! Well, whatever, I still want to thank him for the gift.

"Sure, hon," Mrs. Weasley said, "Take your tim-"

"Molly!" Mr. Weasley yelled, "You wanted me to get groceries with Ginny and Hermione, right? If so, we've got to leave now! There's going to be lots of traffic and I can't risk flying the car!"

Mrs. Weasley looked over at me, as though asking me if that was okay.

"It's okay, Mrs. Weasley. I'll go now…I'll talk to Harry later," I said smiling, hiding my disappointment.

"Thanks a lot, dear!" Mrs. Weasley called after me and Mr. Weasley led me and Ginny to the car.

As soon as we got situated and Mr. Weasley began driving, Ginny began rambling and rambling about her presents.

"So, what'd you get?" she asked curiously.

I listed all the presents, and thanked her for the shoes. I told her about Fred and George's aswell. She laughed, but I didn't think it was that funny.

Then Harry's present came to mind, and I asked Ginny if she got them too. If she did, that means the present means nothing. He probably got every girl the same thing.

"So, Ginny. What'd you get from Harry?" I asked casually.

"I got a package of candy…" she said cautiously, "Why? What'd you get?"

I told her, and she burst into squeals.

"Oh my gosh! Really?" Ginny said excitedly, "I wish a guy would give _me _jewelry! All Dean got me was perfume. And it smells horrible!"

Maybe Dean and Ron went shopping for presents together and got the same perfume…wait never mind. Dean and Ron would _never_ go _shopping_ with each other! That's just plain weird! But you know what? It's Dean and Ron we're talking about. It's possible. Well, enough about Dean and Ron's little escapades.

"Oh, well….he probably just strode by a store and saw that it was cheap and just decided to get it!" I said, satisfied with my answer.

"If it's as beautiful as you say it is, it _must_ cost a lot," Ginny remarked, "And, Harry's loaded…so if he really wanted to get something, he could probably afford it."

I blushed. Why would Harry spend that much money for me?

Ginny seemed to read me thoughts, and replied, "Cause he likes you! It's so obvious. Even Fred and George can tell! And I'm getting the feeling that you like him back!"

I blushed even more, "I do not! We're just friends!" I said nervously.

"Yeah, yeah," Ginny said teasingly.

And the rest of the ride was silent, until we got to the store, got all of Mrs. Weasley's groceries. We got back into the car, and Ginny and I resumed talking, but not about Harry, even though I could tell Ginny wanted to.

* * *

Since we got back to the Burrow, I was so busy I didn't have time to talk. Once we got back, Mrs. Weasley bustled me and Ginny into the kitchen to help her cook. I desperately wanted to talk to Harry, but I didn't want Mrs. Weasley to think I didn't want to help. And so Ginny, Mrs. Weasley, and myself worked tirelessly preparing the extravagant meal. By the time we were done, Dumbledore and Aunt Minerva had already arrived and were sitting down, drinking tea, whispering in soft voices.

Ginny and I set the table, and brought all the dishes out. We took a second to admire out work before calling everyone to dinner.

I went to get Aunt Minerva, while Ginny got all her siblings.

Aunt Minerva greeted me with a hug, "Hermione! I've missed you! How are things at the Burrow?"

"I missed you too! And I'm having a wonderful time!" I answered, then looked around the room for Dumbledore.

"Where's Professor Dumbledore?" I asked my aunt.

"Oh, umm…" she stuttered, "He thought there wasn't enough, errr, festive cheer in the house. So he's putting up, errrr, decorations."

Decorations? That's weird, why would he come and put decorations up in someone else's house? I decided to ignore it, and led the relieved Aunt Minerva into the dining room.

Almost everyone was seated. Everyone except for Mrs. Weasley and Dumbledore. I looked for Harry and Ron. I found them at the end of the table, motioning me over. I sat in between the both of them, with Ginny and Luna sitting across from me.

"I haven't seen you guys all day!" I said, exasperated from the long day of cooking.

"Yeah," said Ron, nodding in agreement, "Did you get our presents?"

"Yeah, I did!" I said, excitedly, suddenly remembering what I wanted to talk to Harry about.

"Thanks for the perfume, Ron!" I said, I didn't want to hurt his feelings by saying they smelled like owl droppings! I quickly gave him a hug, causing him to blush. "Err…yeah..thanks for the Chudley Cannons stuff too!"

"You're welcome," I said, happy that he liked the Chudley Cannons poster and figurines.

I turned to face Harry, who seemed to be squirming in his seat.

"Harry?" I said tentatively.

He looked up, grinning nervously.

"I wanted to say thanks for the earrings! They're beautiful!"

"Oh, well, no problem. I saw them and I though you'd like them…."

"I do! I love them!" I said happily.

"Good," he said, satisfied.

"But why would you get such a wonderful gift for me? I asked Ginny and she said all you gave her was some candy…"

Harry blushed bright red, and was about to reply until Mrs. Weasley and Dumbledore burst into the room.

"Merry Christmas, everyone!" Dumbledore said cheerfully, looking into everyone's eyes. He paused, and stared at me and Harry with twinkling eyes. Well, his eyes were always twinkling, but I squirmed when he started at me, as though he knew my secret. As though he knew I was Herman.

He looked away, to my relief, and seated himself next to Aunt Minerva.

"Well, time to eat!" Mrs. Weasley said happily, and everyone began tackling each other for food.

I was gonna ask Harry again, but there was so much commotion going on. I'll ask him later.

Harry seemed to forget about it too, and the three of us, Harry, Ron, and myself, joked around and watched Fred and George fling spoonfuls of mash potatoes at Percy. Even though they threw food at Percy everyday, it was particularly funny today because mash potatoes are quite thick and heavy. Meaning they can cause much more damage than peas. One time, Fred fired a spoonful of mash potatoes at Percy, he missed, and it wound of landing into Percy's goblet of water with a loud **PLOP, **sending water everywhere. It was actually quite funny.

After dinner, everyone was bloated. Fred and George even complained that they needed new pants because these didn't fit anymore.

Harry, Ron, and I got up from our seats and began walking towards the Christmas Tree, carrying the mugs of hot chocolate that Mrs. Weasley has prepared. We were going to sit on the rug and Harry and Ron were going to play Wizards' Chess, while I watched. We were sipping our hot chocolate until we got to the doorway. Harry and I both accidentally tried to go through at the same time, causing us to get stuck at the doorway.

"You go first," Harry laughed, and I walked in front of him, laughing.

I was just past the doorway until a strong invisible force pulled me back beneath the doorway, causing me to fall back, almost spilling my hot chocolate.

"Oww.." I muttered, placing my hot chocolate on the floor.

"Whoa!" I heard Ron say, "That was weird."

"Yeah it was," said Harry who was still under the doorway. He, too, laid down his hot chocolate and helped me up.

"You okay?" he asked, concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied, brushing myself off, "What was that all about?"

"I have no idea," Harry said.

"Well, come on!" Ron said, walking away, "You're not gonna find out what happened by standing there! Let's go figure out through a game of wizard's chess!" Ron said, clearly wanting to play wizard's chess.

"Ok, fine," I snapped. He cared more about wizard's chess then me! Well, it's expected. Ron gets sidetracked easily.

Harry and I both followed Ron, with me in the lead, until we got to the same place where I was flung back before.

And it happened yet again.

Except this time, both of us were forcibly thrown back. We both were flung back under the doorway, and I landed on top of Harry, causing us both to blush fiercely.

"Bloody hell," muttered Ron. I guess this finally caught his attention.

"What's happening?" I asked to no one in particular, "Whenever Harry and I walk away from the door, we get thrown back!"

"Bloody hell!" Ron said again, this time louder.

"What now, Ronald?" I asked annoyed.

He then pointed to the top of the door. I looked up. And there, hovering above me and Harry's head was a small green plant.

"Mistletoe," I whispered out loud.

"Indeed, Miss. Granger," said a voice from behind. Harry and I turned around and looked up at the elderly wizard before us.

So this was what Aunt Minerva meant by 'decorations'!

"How'd you know my name?" I asked, unable to hide my curiosity, "I don't go to Hogwarts," I added.

"I know more than you think," Dumbledore said mysteriously, "And I also know that you cannot leave the doorway until you two kiss." He said casually.

People tend to ask dumb questions when they're shocked and that was exactly what I did. "Why?" I asked stupidly.

"The mistletoe, of course! It's tradition that you kiss whomever you are caught underneath it with!" Dumbledore said happily.

"I know what it means!" I muttered, annoyed. But then I said, loud enough for him to hear, "Well, you don't _have_ to. Nothing can force you to!"

"Well, that's partially correct," Dumbledore said, "With regular mistletoe, you don't have to. You can just walk away. But with a simple spell, you can _enchant_ the mistletoe. Which is what I did. You cannot leave until you kiss!"

"But _why_ would you do that?" I asked, exasperated.

"To bring holiday cheer!" Dumbledore said, chuckling, "And it's quite funny to watch people squirm. I put many, many enchanted mistletoe at Hogwarts, for the students that stayed for Christmas. It was very entertaining!" He laughed.

How can someone so wise be so…cruel? Even though, I admit, it would be quite funny to watch complete opposites be forced to kiss each other. Say, Malfoy and Luna. That'd be hilarious. But still…it's not funny when it happens to me. And with Harry of all people!

By now, everyone had gathered around the doorway, watching the mistletoe, and trying to stifle their laughter.

"Can you, err, unchant it?" Harry asked stupidly.

"Yes," Dumbledore said firmly.

Both of us stared at him expectantly, and when we realized he wasn't going to answer, I asked again.

"Can you take the spell off then? So we can leave?" I asked, running out of patience.

"Yes, I can." He said again, "I just choose not to."

I almost screamed in frustration. Almost. But didn't. I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of seeing _me_ squirm.

"Fine!" I snapped, and since Harry was so tall, I went on my tippy toes and pecked Harry on the cheek.

We both blushed, but relieved that it was over.

Dumbledore smirked, but he still stood there, watching us.

I looked at him strangely, then grabbed Harry's arm, leading him away. Everybody began to walk away, thinking the show was over. Until Harry and I were thrown back yet again!

"What gives?" Harry yelled in frustration.

"You need to kiss. On the lips." Dumbledore clarified.

I was really starting to not like this guy, even though he was the greatest wizard of our time.

Everyone appeared around the doorway instantly. With Fred, George, and Ginny right next to Ginny, smirking at us.

Harry and I both knew that there was no way Dumbledore was going to let us go, so we might as well save us some breath and just kiss.

I looked up at Harry, grinning nervously. He looked just as nervous. I looked around and saw everyone smirking at us.

"Can you guys, uhm, leave?" Harry said, voicing my thoughts, "It's kinda awkward with you guys staring…"

"No," Fred, George, and Ginny said firmly.

They'll tease us about this for years!

Well, better now, than standing here with everyone watching! I stood up on my tippy toes once again and leaned my head towards Harry's, as he was doing the same towards me.

I closed my eyes, and our lips finally met into a soft kiss. He tasted like hot chocolate. I probably did too. I managed to forget that everyone was watching, for who knows how long, and then realization hit me about what everyone must be thinking. I quickly pulled away, though I regretted it. I opened my eyes and found everyone staring at us in awe.

Dumbledore looked at us, pleased. And don't even get me started on Fred, George, and Ginny. Ron was just as flabbergasted as everyone else.

"How long did we kiss?" I whispered to the red-faced Harry.

"I have no idea," he replied nervously.

I've got to ask Ginny. But she was too busy laughing to say anything right now. I still didn't have the courage to look him in the eye yet, so instead, I examined everyone else. And yeah, that was extremely embarrassing, watching everyone smirk at us.

"Err…I'm gonna go write a letter to Herman saying Merry Christmas…" Harry said, desperate to get away. Then he scrambled up the stairs to the room.

"I'm getting tired…I'm gonna go to bed…" I said, and rushed up the stairs aswell.

I slammed the door, and lay on my bed.

I touched my lips, remembering the kiss. Oh, how I wish I could kiss Harry again! It seemed so…_right. _I lay there for awhile, trying to remember more of the kiss, until I remembered what Harry had said. 'I'm gonna go write a letter to Herman…'

Oh no. I doubt he's lying. He think he really is going to send a letter! But then…what if Hedwig knows about me? Would the letter come straight to me? What if Harry released her and all she did was fly up to me room? Arggggg….What should I do?

Then I was hit with a brilliant idea. I could write a letter _first_, from Herman that is, then give it to Harry later, saying the owl delivered it to me instead. And in the letter I would tell Harry not to write back! Brilliant.

I quickly scrambled onto the desk and began writing the letter.

_Dear Harry, _

_How are things at the Burrow? Good I hope. Dumbledore's been unleashing these enchanted mistletoe around the school! It's mass hysteria here! _

I heard the door creak open. It was probably Ginny.

"I'm busy Ginny! You can tease me about the kiss later!" I said, irritated. I didn't even bother turning around, I just continued with my letter.

_With everyone running around, trying to avoid the dreaded mistletoe. Well, Merry Christmas! Tell Ron and everyone else Merry Christmas too! _

I felt someone look over my shoulder, reading my letter. "Go away, Ginny! I'm busy!"

_There's no need to write back. The weather's pretty bad and Hedwig might get hurt on the way here. See you back at Hogwarts!_

_Sincerely,_

_Herman_

I grinned happily, satisfied with my letter.

Then I heard a gasp.

"You're _Herman_?!?" said a flabbergasted voice, that certainly wasn't Ginny.

I turned around in horror.

"I can explain, Luna!" I stuttered.

I'm screwed.

* * *

Longest chapter yet!! More than 6,000 words! Well, long in my standards. Haha! Okay..so now Luna knows! But how will she respond? And yeah, the mistletoe part. I couldn't resist! When I thought of Christmas I thought of mistletoe and I decided to slip it into the story. lol!

So hopefully, the next chapter will be out soon!

Thanks for the reviews! A lot of you guys have great ideas! Please, leave more! I'm still have some ideas, but if anyone has anymore, please tell me!

Till chapter 6! Bye!

Thanks to People Who Reviewed: Aquarius. Lily and James Love 4 Ever. A Great and Terrible Beauty. MusicMaven09. The Gryffindor Drummer. Lunargurl101. Sra. Darcy. Gurlonthemove. Obnoxiouslyfunny. Hotkat144. Princess.Duh.


	7. Invisibility Cloaks Drive Me Insane

**AN-** Hey everyone! I know I said I would get chapters out sooner but it turned out to take longer..lol. Sorry! I'm gonna put the rest of my random thoughts/excuses at the end of the chapter now! Haha..so..onto chapter 6!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

* * *

Recap:"You're _Herman_?!?" said a flabbergasted voice, that certainly wasn't Ginny. 

I turned around in horror.

"I can explain, Luna!" I stuttered.

I'm screwed.

* * *

**Thirty Minutes Later**

"…So that's the story," I concluded, biting my lip, hoping she wouldn't run off like a mad woman telling everyone.

"So let me get this straight," Luna said slowly, "First, you wanted to leave Beauxbatons because you were sick of the girls there. Then there was no more room at Hogwarts for girls, so you decided to disguise a boy. And then you befriend Ron, Harry, and Ginny. But you were already friends with Ginny cause Ginny knew you were girl, but you were disguising as a boy. But then you met Ron and Harry and Hogsmeade, so now they know the girl you and the boy you, but they don't know that you're the same person. And you don't wanna tell Ron and Harry cause you don't want them to be mad at you when you tell them you're actually Herman….or..err..Hermione. And now you're also really confused because you like Harry but you're a guy half the time you're with him and it'd be kinda weird."

"Yup," I said, "Except for the part with me liking Harry," I added at the end quickly. "Now that I think about it, I don't think I ever mentioned anything about that…"

"Oh, sorry," Luna said sheepishly, "I was thinking about your snogging session with Harry downstairs!"

"Ow!" Luna yelped, when I threw my pillow at her.

"You won't tell anyone will you?" I asked desperately.

"Well, it could make a great story for _The Quibbler_. I can imagine it on the headlines, "A Young Girl Sneaks Into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry In Hopes of Finding Her True Love, Harry Potter."

"Ow!" Luna yelped when I threw my pillow at her.

"First of all," I replied calmly, "That headline is rubbish. It sounds bad, no one would want to read _that_," Luna threw me deadly glared, "And it's not true. I wanted to go to Hogwarts for education, you know, to learn things," I said slowly.

"I know what education is!" Luna said, highly offended.

I ignored her, "And second of all, I only asked if you would tell anyone to give you a choice. You're not telling anyone either way. You can either choose not to tell anymore, or I can erase your memory with this new charm I learned," I replied simply.

"Heh-heh," Luna laughed nervously, "You're joking, right?"

"Uhmm..no. Not really," I said bluntly, desperately trying not to laugh. I wasn't really going to erase her memory….I'd be in so much trouble if I did.

Luna glanced nervously at the door, probably wondering if she could make a run for the door. I continued to stare at her expectantly.

"I promise I won't tell anyone," Luna finally said.

"You better not!" I said, trying to make my voice sound intimidating.

Then all of a sudden, I heard a sharp tapping on my window. It was Hedwig.

"Oh no," I whispered. The letter! I forgot to give it to Harry. So Hedwig _does _know I'm Herman!

"What's wrong?" Luna asked curiously, all fear erased, "It's just Hedwig."

"Long story," I said shortly, running over to the window, and motioning Hedwig in.

"Tell me!" Luna said anxiously.

"Next time!" I said hurriedly, detaching the letter from Hedwig's outstretched foot.

I skimmed through the letter quickly, just a bunch of 'Hope you had a nice Christmas' and what not. Before I could finish, I heard a gentle knock on my door.

"Err…Hermione?" Harry asked timidly, "Uhmm…I was wondering if you've seen Hedwig. I was sending a letter off to my friend, and when I let Hedwig out the window, she flew right up to your window! Weird, huh? It seems like he's confused you for Herman!" he laughed nervously.

What am I gonna do? Think, Hermione, think!

"Luna!" I whispered, urgently, "Can you stall him for like two seconds? I need to put the letter back on Hedwig!"

Luna nodded, and opened the door a crack.

"Oh, sorry, Harry! Hermione's having an emotional meltdown right now, cause of the kiss you gave her, and she never wants to see you again!" Luna said confidently.

You know what? That memory charm idea sounds really appealing now. Good thing I tied the letter back on Hedwig quickly, before Luna could say anything else.

I quickly motioned Hedwig onto my shoulder. I think she's taking a liking to me. She usually never listens to anyone, especially Ron. (Maybe because he ate her owl food one time. Moron.) I ran over to the door and flung it open.

"Sorry, Harry! Luna's a little confused right now. We were trying out my new memory charm, and she _volunteered_ to try it out," I said, glaring at her menacingly. She shrank away, and pushed past me and Harry, and quickly made her way down the stairs. Yeah, she better run.

"Well here, Harry" I said cheerfully, nudging my shoulder so Hedwig would get off.

"Thanks," he replied nervously, looking down at the floor.

"Oh, and by the way," I slipped out the letter I wrote to give Harry, "An owl delivered this to me this morning. I wonder why so many owls are making mistakes these days?" I chuckled nervously, realizing that I was alone with Harry. Hedwig gave an angered hoot.

"Yeah, well, it's getting late," I mumbled, desperate to leave this awkward conversation, "I'm gonna go to bed now. Goodnight!" Yeah, right. It's only 8:45.

I turned on my heel, and was about to close the door when Harry stuck out his hand, blocking the door.

"What Luna said…" Harry muttered, "She was joking, right? You're not mad at me, or anything?..."

"No, no, no, no! Of course not!" I said, relieved, I thought he was trying to figure out why Hedwig made the mistake of sending me the letter.

"So, about the kiss…." Harry mumbled.

"Yeah, it was nothing!" I said, trying to keep my voice from stuttering. It was bad enough that my cheeks were flaming red, "We're just friends and we just so happened to have kissed. We can forget it ever happened."

"But I don't want to forg-" Harry stopped himself, "Yeah, we're best friends! It was nothing! I'll see you tomorrow then?" he asked, his voice unusually dull.

"Yeah, of course!" I replied, and gently closed the door.

I leaned against the closed door, letting out a sigh. I felt strangely disappointed. Did I really want to forget that kiss? Did I really want Harry to?

* * *

**One Week After Winter Break  
Back at Hogwarts  
Dinner-Great Hall**

Well, we're back at Hogwarts again. Nothing happened after Christmas, except for a few rather embarrassing situations. But I'll live.

"So, you guys going to Hogsmeade tomorrow?" Harry asked all of a sudden, to nobody in particular.

"Of course!" Ginny replied curtly, "Where else would we be going?"

"Just asking!" Harry added, "I'm not."

"Why," Ron paused to swallow his food, "not?"

"I'm not allowed," Harry said, downcast, "Got in a fight with Malfoy yesterday. He's in the hospital wing right now, you know? Madam Pomfrey trying to shrink his nose back to its 'normal size.'"

"Great job, Harry," Ginny replied sarcastically, "You decide to get in a fight with Malfoy right before a Hogsmeade trip."

"Hey! It's not my fault!" Harry snapped, "He was asking for it!"

"Why don't you just sneak out?" Ron asked.

A look of dawning crossed Harry's face, "You're right! I haven't used the secret passageway for awhile...no one will suspect a thing!"

"What secret passageway?" I inquired.

"You don't remember? I asked you if you wanted to use it, and you said you didn't. Do you want to come with me then? I could use some company…it's kinda creepy down there by yourself…" Harry trailed off.

"Wimp," Ginny mumbled.

Harry scowled at her, then directed his attention back to me, "So? What do you say?"

"Uhmm…I'll pass," I responded quickly, "I have this meeting with McGonagall that morning…" I wasn't lying completely that time…I really was going to see Aunt Minerva in the morning. But then again, I was going to Hogsmeade afterwards…but whatever. Either way I'll be there. I just prefer to be there as Hermione.

"Whatever you say," Harry taunted, "I guess we'll be drinking butterbeer by ourselves. And we'll be stuffing our faces with delicious acid pop without you…."

"Don't bother trying to convince me, Harry," I chuckled, "I really can't."

"Why not?" Ron asked, joining in on the conversation.

"Because…err.." I paused, trying to think of an excuse, "My grades are dropping?" I concluded uncertainly.

"Dropping?" Harry asked flabbergasted, "You're the brightest wizard in our year!"

"You mean witch…" I began, until Ginny nudged me, "I mean, I got a T on my essay...and so my grades took a dive."

"Yeah, yeah," Ron and Harry said together, clearly not believing my lame excuse.

"Well, I'm full," Ron said finally.

"About time!" I replied, exasperated. It never fails to amuse me every time we eat dinner when Ron manages to clear all the plates on the Gryffindor table, "Can we go back to the common room now? I've got a Snape paper to finish!"

I quickly pulled them off their seats, despite their many complaints.

"Come on," I urged, walking briskly up the moving stairs.

Once we got back to the tower, I walked over to my favorite chair and situated myself comfortably, grabbing my quill, ink, and a half finished essay.

"Has anyone ever told you that you sit like a girl?" Ron asked randomly as he and Harry made their way to the couch.

I looked down at my position. My legs were crossed and my back was straight, whereas Harry and Ron were practically sprawled across the couch.

I quickly spread my legs apart and slouched down in a very manly way, "No, never," I replied quickly.

Ron shook his head, then asked Harry, "You up for a game of Wizard's chess?"

Harry nodded his head in agreement and the got up and sat on either side of the table, where the board was already set up.

I began on essay once again, until after about 5 minutes, I ran out of ink.

"Do you guys have any ink?" I asked urgently.

"Nope," They replied quickly, not even taking their eyes off the board.

"Yeah, right…" I said, annoyed, "Where's Ginny? I'll ask her."

"She went up to the dormitory after dinner," Harry replied simply.

"Fine, I'll go get her!" I said, ticked off. I stomped across the common room, careful to step on their feet when I walked past. They glared at me, but I ignored them.

I was about halfway up the stairs, until I heard Harry and Ron call for me.

"What now?" I yelled.

"Herman! How'd you get up there?!?" Ron yelled, "It's impossible for boys to go up the girls' staircase! You're _supposed_ to slide back down!"

"Well, I didn't!" I snapped, despite the situation.

He looked taken aback, but continued to interrogate me, "Well?"

"Uhmmm….." I mumbled. What am I supposed to say? For once, I couldn't think of anything.

"Mister Gardner! **(AN-Herman's last name)**," yelled a strict voice, "I see you're getting up the staircase just fine."

"Uhmm, yeah," I answered Aunt Minerva, uncertainly.

"Good. It took the best of me to charm that staircase to let you up there! Now don't take this privilege for granted! You may only go up to ask for schoolwork help!" Aunt Minerva said confidently, winking at me, without Ron and Harry's knowing.

"What are you talking about?" Ron asked, suspiciously.

"Well, as you know, Mister Gardner here is taking many subjects this year. Subjects that no other Gryffindor boy managed to get into, to my dismay," Aunt Minerva sighed, "But there are a few Gryffindor girls that are taking it, so I've decided to give him permission to go up to the girls' dormitory, for help, if he so needs it."

I nodded in agreement, hoping Harry and Ron would accept this excuse. They looked unsure, but they just shrugged their shoulders and returned their attention to the game. I let out a loud sigh, mouthing a 'thank you' to Aunt Minerva. She nodded her head in acknowledgment, then made her way out of the portrait hole.

I walked down the stairs, completely forgetting the ink I was going to ask Ginny for. All that trouble for some ink!

Once Aunt Minerva was out of sight, Ron zoomed out his seat and raced towards the stairs. He got up about three steps before he slipped down, landing on his bottom.

Everyone in the common room burst out laughing, leaving a very red-faced Ron trying to regain his composure.

"Just checking to see if it was working again, you know? Wouldn't want some crazed lunatic to get up to the girls' dormitory! Heh-heh…" Ron mumbled nervously.

Typical Ron.

* * *

**Later in the week  
Hogsmeade.Quill Shop.**

"Thank you, and come again," I said, unenthusiastically, as the young Ravenclaw first year scurried out the door, carrying her new set of quills.

I sighed loudly, bored beyond my dreams. I still have a little more than an hour and a half before I could leave and join Ron, Ginny, and Harry at the Shrieking Shack. Ron and Ginny were probably in Honeydukes, or something. And I'm not sure where Harry is…with his invisibility cloak he could be anywhere.

'Ding.' I heard the door jangle open, yet no one walked in…

"Hello?" I called out nervously.

Nothing. My imagination…I think….

I laid my head back down on the counter, listening for any unusual sounds.

"EEKKK!" I shrieked, when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Jeez! Calm down!" yelped Harry, who was pulling his invisibility cloak off, "I think I'm deaf!"

"So-rry," I said stubbornly, "You shouldn't sneak up on people like that…"

"I didn't know you'd get so scared," said Harry, raising his hands in innocence.

"It's fine.." I grumbled, "Why are you here anyways?"

"Turns out, you actually can't go that many places in an invisibility cloak. People hear you, or bump into you, then they get all freaked out. Not fun."

"What about Ron and Ginny?"

"Can't find them."

"Well," I paused, looking over at the grandfather clock, "I've still got one and a half hours till I'm done..and that's about the time when I'm supposed to meet Ron and Ginny at the Shrieking Shack….You can wait with me if you want."

"I've got nothing better to do," said a bored Harry.

"You've got to put on the invisibility cloak, though," I pointed out, "Since your _so_ popular, everyone knows about your whole fiasco with Snape and Malfoy, and your banishment from Hogsmeade. I wouldn't risk getting caught if I were you…"

"Okay, okay," Harry mumbled, "And by the way, I'm not popular. I'm just…err..well-known."

"Yeah, yeah," I answered jokingly.

So for the next hour and a half, Harry would whisper pointless and stupid jokes in my ear, without the knowledge of the customers that is. And I would end up laughing/snorting, which would earn me weird looks from customers. By now, I wouldn't be surprised if all of Hogsmeade though I was mental! One customer even asked if I needed to go to St. Mungo! How rude.

Finally, time was up, and me and Harry hurried out of the store.

Once I was on the main street, I could see many eyes upon me, most of which were customers.

"Thanks a bunch, Harry," I said sarcastically, "Everyone thinks I have a loose screw!"

"Well, who wouldn't? To them, you're talking to yourself!" Harry whispered jokingly.

"True," I replied curtly.

I made a point not to talk the whole time we walked towards the Shrieking Shack. When we were finally out of the sight of the crowd, Harry slung off the cloak, and stretched his arms.

"You won't believe how cramped I was in that thing!" Harry said, stretching his back, "I had to hunch over the whole time so my feet wouldn't be exposed! I think I broke my back!"

"You're not an old man!" I laughed, and ran towards the Shrieking Shack, where I saw Luna and Ron whispering to each other in hushed tones.

"You're lying!" Ron whispered, flabbergasted.

"Shhh!" I caught Luna say, "She's coming! Don't tell anyone!"

"Tell me what?" I asked cheerfully.

"Err, nothing," Luna said nervously.

"Okay…" I replied, unsure, "Where's Ginny anyways?"

"She'll be here soon," Ron answered, except he sounded a little angry.

"Hey!" Harry called breathlessly, "Thanks for leaving me behind! I seriously think I broke my back!"

"Yeah, whatever!" I chuckled, leaning against a tree trunk, "Hey there's Ginny!" I pointed out.

Luna and Harry began to walk towards her, and I was too, until I felt Ron grab my arm.

"I need to talk to you," Ron said, very seriously, looking straight into my eyes, "You guys go ahead!" he called to Harry and a very nervous looking Luna.

Believe me, Ron being serious is very scary. The most serious I've ever seen him was when they ran out of food during dinner, and he, very seriously, wrote a complaint letter. Yes, a complaint letter. To Dumbledore, complaining about how he would starve to death is he didn't get his food.

"Yeah?" I asked nervously, not daring to look at his face.

"When were you planning on telling me that you were Herman?"

* * *

Boom. Unexpected…yes? No? Well, I decided I wanted Ron to know…because I'm thinking about another subplot, and it involves Ron knowing about Hermione's secret. For those of you that didn't catch it, Luna told Ron because...well..you'lle find out next chapter! It will all be clear then! So yeah…Sorry for the short chapter, by the way! I seriously couldn't think of what to write! So I decided to post what I had, so you guys would at least have _something_ to read! Well, I don't know when to expect the next chapter. I've been trying to set deadlines for myself, but I never meet them! lol! Well, please review! Your reviews encourage me to write faster! And the faster I write, the sooner the next chapter will be out! ) And please leave suggestions and ideas as well! I'm sure they'll help me with the next chapter! Till next chapter, bye!

To My Lovely Reviewers: The Gryffindor Drummer. Mugglecast Pickles rock. Light Avatar. Dablackfox101. salorgirl. A Great and Terrible Beauty. Hotkat144. Princess.Duh. Lily and James Love 4 ever. Wings of Tears. Gurlonthemove. HeartAngel.


	8. Explanations

**AN-** …So..it's been like a month and a half. Haha. My longest not updating. lol. don't get mad. I was like totally stuck on this chapter and when I finally got the inspiration I wrote a lot. So this is one of the extra long chapters to make up for the lack of updates. More random notes at the end.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine.

* * *

**Recap:**

"_Yeah?" I asked nervously, not daring to look at his face._

"_When were you planning on telling me that you were Herman?"_

* * *

  
"Wh-what?" I stuttered, "I have no idea what you're talking about…."

"Yeah, I think you do," Ron said seriously.

"Well, you can't prove it," I snapped immaturely. Could I think of a worse thing to say?

"Oh, really now? Then you wouldn't mind me telling Harry about this little assumption that Luna has?" Ron mocked.

Well, I'm never telling Luna anything, ever again!

"No, Ron! You can't!" I said desperately, tugging his arm, like a child.

"Why not?" he asked bluntly, "I feel betrayed you know? How long has it been, 6 months? **(AN- Sorry. I completely lost track of the time…so lets just say that school started in the beginning August, and since they already had Christmas break, and they're back at school, I'd say it's mid January.) **And this whole time, you were lying to us?"

"I didn't want to! It's just that I didn't want to risk telling you guys! I didn't wanna lose you guys as friends, and I knew you'd think I was lying to you guys the whole time!"

"How do you know I don't think that now?" Ron asked, annoyed.

"See! This was exactly how I thought you would react! Ron, I swear, our friendship was completely real," I said, exasperated, "Besides, now our friendship's even stronger than before right?" Ron glared. "I mean, you were best friends with Hermione, and best friends with Herman, and since I'm actually both, I'm the…err…Super best friend!" I said lamely.

Ron sighed, "You have a point there…except you lost me at the 'super best friend' part…"

Yeah. That was a mistake.

"But I guess its okay. I mean you are the same person….."

I nodded.

"Hey, hold on a second! Are you actually a guy or a girl? Cause Luna didn't really make that clear…"

"Ron!" I yelled, hitting him playfully on the shoulder, "I'm a girl!"

"Jeez," Ron muttered, rubbing his shoulder, "I was just kidding!"

"So…everything's fine between us now, right?" I asked tentatively.

"Yeah, why not?" Ron replied, turning back into the carefree guy he was. Wow. Sometimes it pays off to have a best friend who couldn't care less. "But I still gotta tell Harry!"

"No! You can't!" I said, urgently, "He's not like you! He'll never forgive me!"

"Yes, he will!" Ron said, "He's our best friend, remember? He wouldn't just disown you! He adores you!"

My cheeks turned red. Apparently, everyone thinks I like Harry and he with me, but I chose to ignore the adoration part. "Ron! Harry isn't like you! He takes everything seriously!" Ron shot a glare at me, but I ignored him, "I mean, like, he wouldn't be like you and just say, 'Oh, I don't care that you've been pretending to be two people for the last couple months! Let's stay friends forever!' He'd probably think I was really lying to him…."

"Hermione! Me, and especially Harry, would never abandon you! You're our best friend! You said so yourself!" Ron said, exasperated.

For once, what Ron said actually sounded logical. But I couldn't risk my friendship with Harry just yet. I wasn't even ready to tell Ron yet! I wouldn't have either, if Luna hadn't blurted it out.

"You don't understand! I just don't wanna risk our friendship yet, you know? You and Harry mean a lot to me, and if Luna hadn't told you, I don't think I would've found the courage to face you with the truth. I mean, I'd be totally devastated if you guys left me! Just give me a little bit more time to secure my friendship with Harry, okay? Then I'll tell him little by little and th-"

"ACHOOOO!" Ron sneezed loudly.

"Way to ruin a serious moment…" I muttered.

"Excuse me," Ron mumbled, and I glared at him, "What can I say? I gotta sneeze…"

Ron cleared his throat, "Well anyways, don't worry! I won't tell Harry, even though I think it would be a very good idea if you did. The sooner you tell, the better. But it's your choice." Ron said.

Behind the jokes and everything, Ron's actually a really good friend.

"Thanks a lot, Ron! You're the best!" I said cheerfully, giving him a great big hug.

"Yeah, I know!" Ron said proudly.

"Well, let's get going! They're probably wondering where we are!" I said, joyfully, skipping down towards that path.

"Hey, hold on a sec! You didn't think that that was it right?" Ron called, smirking.

"Uhm..actually, yes," I said, confused. I thought we resolved everything..

"Oh, no! You don't think I'd keep your secret for nothing, did you?" Ron asked.

"Actually, yeah…" I muttered, weakly.

"Oh," Ron said stupidly, "I did too!"

I looked at him, confused.

"Anyways," Ron shook his head, "I've decided to blackmail you!" He said proudly.

"What?" I exclaimed. Who does that? Tell someone that you're blackmailing them?

"I'm blackmailing you! That means I'm threatening t-"

"I know that it means!" I snapped.

"Yup! If you don't do what I say, I'm gonna tell the whole school your secret! So, I want you to…………"

I waited to hear the horrible deed Ron wanted me to do.

"Do my homework!" He exclaimed proudly.

"That's it?" I yelled, "I already do that!"

"Yeah, but you don't do it willingly! I still have to sneak up on you to copy it. But now you have to actually do it for me!" Ron said confidently.

"That's the sorriest excuse of blackmail I've ever heard of," I said calmly, "If you're gonna blackmail me, at least think of something worthwhile!"

I mean, come on, I purposely let him look over my shoulder to copy. I just never told him because he seemed to have fun being James Bond and sneaking up on me.

"Fine!" Ron said indignantly, "I'll tell you when I think of something."

"Can't you just not tell? I mean we're best friends right?" I pleaded. I didn't want to risk any chance of Ron actually thinking of a good blackmail.

Ron looked at me confused, "I was just kidding! Don't think of this as blackmail, just think of it as a favor you owe me, okay? We _are_ best friends. I would never tell anyone your secret! I just felt like calling it blackmail," He said simply.

I'm amazed at how Ron manages to function everyday, thinking like that.

"You know what? I think I'm just gonna forget this whole conversation about blackmail happened, okay?" I said, "All that matters now is that you're not gonna tell anyone right?"

Ron nodded.

"So that's it. Everything will be just the same."

"Except you owe me a favor!" Ron chirped.

"Yeah, yeah!" I muttered, "Let's go!"

* * *

**Back at Hogwarts-  
After Hogsmeade Trip**

"Whew," I sighed, as I lay down on my bed in the boys' dormitory. The whole time I was at Hogsmeade, Ron seemed like he was about to explode and yell out my secret to everyone. Yeah, well, Ron never was one to keep secrets. Nor was Luna. Turns out she has quite a soft spot for Ron. All Ron did was tell her about my little trip up the stairs to the girls' dormitory, and she spilled everything. And soon after that, Luna's been hanging all over Ron! It's actually kinda weird…her acting all girly and giggling whenever she was around him. Yet it's strangely entertaining watching Ron run away from her all the time.

Anyways, I still trust Ron not to tell anyone. So now, Ginny, Luna, and Ron know…but Harry still doesn't. Should I tell him?...

Nah.

Just a little while longer. In the meantime, though, I gotta be careful now…I don't want anymore people finding out. Which reminds me, Ron never told me what favor he wanted me to do…He probably forgot. I wouldn't be very surprised.

Well, finally some peace and quiet. I left dinner early, I was exhausted! And taking a shower really helped. Maybe I can finally relax…

BAM. The door flung open, and five boys piled in, yelling and laughing, breaking the silence.

"I'm gonna take a shower now!" yelled Seamus to no one in particular, and made his way to the bathroom.

Everyone else just kinda made their way over to their bunks and lay there, stuffed with food. Except Ron that is, who kept on staring at me. It was getting kinda creepy.

And after, like, two minutes, out comes Seamus, towel wrapped around his waist, apparently done with his shower.

"Seamus! Are you done already? You were only in there for two minutes!" exclaimed Neville, who cared _a lot_ about personal hygiene.

"Yeah, so?" said Seamus, innocently.

"Put a shirt on, mate!" yelled Ron, who was surprisingly quiet.

"Why? We're all guys, what's the big deal?" asked Seamus, confused.

"Cause Herm-" I cleared my throat loudly, "Err…Just do it!" cried Ron, who threw a shirt at his face.

"Yeah, whatever," Seamus grumbled, and slipped the shirt on. Then he collapsed onto his bunk and began reading a magazine, like nothing happened. Everyone followed his example and began doing their own thing once again.

"Ron!" I whispered, climbing off my bed, and over to his, "Is everything alright? You're acting kinda weird…"

"Well, I just need to get used to a girl being in the dormitory, okay?" Ron asked innocently.

"It's just me! Hermione!" I whispered, "What's there to get used to?"

"I dunno…" Ron rolled on, "I'm just trying to, errr, protect you!"

Jeez. That sounds corny.

"From what?" I asked annoyed.

"Well, you're kind of the only girl in a guy infested dormitory…" Ron reasoned.

"They don't know that…" I muttered.

Ron ignored me, and continued again, "You know what? I'm worrying too much. I mean, you're just like Ginny! When we're at home, she's always the only girl, and there are no problems there!"

I nodded my head in agreement.

"But it wouldn't hurt for me to try and help you, would it?" Ron said, apparently talking to himself now, "Yeah, it wouldn't! I mean, you could live without seeing Dean's dirty clothes lying around the floor, and everyone wearing practically nothing to sleep…"

"True," I said bluntly, I could totally live without that.

"With me here, you have nothing to worry about! I can't imagine what you must have been feeling, living with a bunch of blokes like them…" Ron said, amazed.

"You wouldn't believe it!" I said chuckling, "Just try and act normal though, okay?"

"Yeah, of course! I always act normal!" Ron exclaimed.

"Yeah, sure…" I said jokingly, walking back over to my bed.

"Don't worry about them while you're sleeping, okay? I'll stay up all night and make sure they don't harass you!" Ron said heroically.

"RON!" I exclaimed, both annoyed and happy, "Nothing's changed! I'm just one of the guys to them! And besides, that would make you seem like a stalker..."

"You're right," Ron said, laughing at himself, "I'm acting like an overprotective brother!"

"Don't worry about anything, okay?" I said, making my way back to my bed.

"What was that all about?" asked Harry, who was sprawled across my bed.

"Oh, nothing," I said calmly, "Ron was just asking for homework help."

"Oh, okay," Harry said, "I'm gonna take a shower now, before Neville gets in. It takes him ages!" And he got up and walked briskly to the shower, and slamming the door right in Neville's face.

"OW!" said a shocked Neville, who was massaging his flattened nose.

I feel guilty now. Hiding this from Harry. For some reason, I didn't really mind _as much _hiding it from Ron. But now that it's just Harry, I'm filled with guilt. Would it really be that bad if I told him? Gahh!! I'm too tired for this…I'll think about it in the morning….

* * *

**The Next Morning-  
Great Hall- Breakfast**

I feel like my head's been hit by a truck! I didn't get a wink of sleep last night, with all those thoughts about Harry figuring out my secret. What's wrong with me? Harry's like all I think about now…..I guess he and Ron have become a big part of my life….

"Great news!" exclaimed Ron, who finished his breakfast surprisingly fast, "Mum's got us tickets to the Quidditch World Cup! It's gonna be two weeks from today!"

"That's great, Ron!" yelled Harry, who was by far the most excited about this bit of news, "Why didn't you tell me sooner?!?"

"I only got the letter this morning! Mum and Dad are planning to get us out of school in about a week and a half. We're gonna get their about two days before the festival begins, but Dad wants to avoid the crowd. I don't think Dumbledore will mind much, from what I've heard, he's quite the Quidditch fanatic!"

I snorted into my orange juice, right at the moment. I mean, I _cannot_ imagine Dumbledore being one of those people yelling and screaming in the stands. That was Harry and Ron's sort of thing.

"What's so funny?" Ron asked seriously.

"Nothing," I replied calmly.

He and Harry gave me strange looks, but returned back to their conversation.

"By us…You mean," Harry asked nervously, "You and Ginny…"

"And you too, of course!" Ron said heartily.

Harry let out a sigh of relief, "Good…I was beginning to think I wasn't invited."

"Of course you were! Mum absolutely adores you!" Ron exclaimed, "Which reminds me, Mum was wondering if Hermione wanted to come…" He said, glancing at me for a few seconds.

"I don't like Quid-," Harry gave me weird stares, and then I remembered. I'm not Hermione, I'm Herman right now…"Nevermind," I said quickly.

"Hermione doesn't like Quidditch," Ginny chirped, on my behalf.

"Well," Harry began, "Invite her anyways! I haven't seen her in ages!"

"Uhm..you mean two weeks? You can't live without her for two weeks?" Ginny said, giggling.

Harry's face turned red, "That's not what I meant!" he said angrily, "Forget it…"

After Ginny's giggling fits ended, Harry regained his composure, "How about you, Herman? Would you like to come?" he looked over at me, then at Ron, "If that's okay with you..I assumed you guys have an extra ticket right?" Ron nodded, "And besides, you didn't go to the Burrow for Christmas, so this makes up for it."

"Yeah, you should come!" Ron said, snickering, knowing perfectly how much I hated Quidditch.

"I don't like Qudditch, Harry!" I said firmly, "In fact, I think it's rather boring."

"Come anyways! It'll be fun..it won't be Quidditch twenty-four-seven!" Harry pleaded, "And you get to miss school!"

"I don't see why that would be a good thing," I muttered.

"Have I ever told you that you remind me of Hermione?" Harry asked out of nowhere, "I mean, I know you've never met her before, but I swear if you met her you'd be shocked by how alike you two are!"

"No way…." I said nervously, "I mean, errr, from what I've heard, it seems like we're polar opposites."

"Well," Harry began, "You both look similar, in some freakishly weird way. And both of you like to read, both of you are the smartest in class, and you both hate Quidditch."

By this time, I was so nervous, I didn't know what I was saying, and before I knew it, I blurted out, "Actually I really like Quidditch! I think it's the greatest sport in the world!"

"But you just said you thought it was boring…" Harry said, confused.

"I meant…My life's boring _without_ Quidditch!" I said stupidly.

"So, you'll come?" laughed Ron, who seemed to be enjoying this.

"No. Yes." I blurted out. Jeez…I must sound mental, then I finally made a decision, "Yes. I'll come." I said firmly.

"Excellent!" Harry said, "You'll have a great time! And you'll get to meet Ron's brother. I can't wait till you meet Fred and George. I swear, they're the craziest guys you could ever meet!" Harry said, laughing.

Great. I'm beginning to think this wasn't the brightest move.

Ron and Ginny were trying to stifle their laughter the whole time, leaving Harry oblivious to everything.

Ginny, who was sitting next to me, whispered in my ear, "You must be happy. Getting to spend another two weeks with Harry!"

"Shut up!" I snarled, pushing her lightly, "I'm going as Herman, remember?"

"Doesn't mean you can't change," Ginny said, as a matter-of-factly.

I was about to reply with a witty comeback, until I heard a chorus of girls screaming, which might I add, is quite annoying.

"OHMYGOD!" squealed a girl, Marietta Edgecombe, I think, "You're back!"

"What's going on?" I whispered to Ginny. She just shrugged her shoulders and continued staring at the commotion which was taking place near the Ravenclaw table.

"I missed you so much, Cho!" yelled another girl, who's name escapes me.

"Cho?" I asked, genuinely confused, "Never heard of her."

"You don't know who Cho Chang is?" exclaimed Ginny, "Well, I guess you there's no way you could've. She left after her fourth year, to go study abroad or something. And apparently, she's back."

"Oh, that's it?" I asked, disappointed. I thought it was something exciting.

I got back to eating my breakfast, until Luna popped out of nowhere, and squeezed herself next to Ron, pushing a strangely downcast Harry aside.

"Good morning, Ron!" Luna said cheerfully.

"Hello, Luna," Ron mumbled, clearly annoyed by her presence.

"Did you know Cho Chang's back? I got pushed off my table cause of her. Everyone's making such a big deal of her coming back…."

I agree. I'm mean, she's just one person.

"Harry? Aren't you going to go and say hello?" asked Luna curiously.

"No," Harry replied, his face stoic. Apparently, over his excitement about the Quidditch World Cup.

"Why would Harry go and say hi to her?" I whispered to Ginny. I can't lie, I was curious.

"Uhm…" Ginny started nervously, "She and Harry went out for awhile. Until she broke up with him..Nobody knows why though."

"Oh," was all I managed to say, until I regained my composure, "I thought it was something serious," I choked out.

"But it is! Aren't feeling even a bit hurt?"

"Nope. Not really." But I was strangely depressed. But I better not mention that to Ginny.

Before Ginny could say anything, Luna began talking again, "I didn't just come here to tell you that Cho was back. Actually, I wanted to tell you that my Dad got tickets to the Quidditch World Cup! And I've got an extra one if you wanted to come…." She concluded nervously.

"I got my own," Ron said coldly.

"That's great! That means we can spend time together at the Cup!" Luna said, not at all fazed by Ron's remark.

"Well, anyways, I was wondering if you wanted to walk to class with me today!" Luna exclaimed.

Ron muttered something that I couldn't understand, and then Luna said, "I guess that means yes! I'll see you later then, okay?"

Ron didn't reply, so she just got off the bench and skipped back to her house table.

"Looks like someone's got a little crush on Ron!" Ginny mocked, laughing at Ron's red face.

"It's not my fault!" Ron objected, "I swear, she's everywhere! Whenever I turn around she's always right there! I can't escape her!"

"I guess she likes you enough to tell you my deepest, darkest secret," I muttered angrily.

No one heard my comment, and just continued teasing Ron.

"You'll get to spend time together at the Cup, Ronald!" jeered Harry, who seemed to be back to his old cheerful self.

"Shut up!" Ron yelled.

But we all continued laughing. Just not as loud.

When we finished our breakfast, Ron pushed us out the door quickly, and made us sprint towards the dungeons.

"Hurry! Before Luna spots we're gone!" Ron whispered, as though afraid Luna might hear us somehow.

"Ron!" Harry exclaimed, "You're overreacting!"

Ron ignored him, and began down the hall that would lead us to Snape's room.

"I've got to go," Ginny said, "Herbology's the other direction."

"Bye!" Harry and I called, as Ginny walked away.

Seconds later, I heard Harry moan in frustration, "I left my Potions book in the Great Hall! I've got to go get it!" And he sprinted away.

That's just like him, forgetting everything.

"Wait up, Ron!" I called to the boy who was more than halfway down the hall by then.

He slowed down his pace, but didn't stop, "Hurry up!"

I ran the rest of the way until I reached him, and the both of us walked briskly towards Snape's dungeon. Then, Ron stopped abruptly.

"What's wrong?" I asked, genuinely confused.

"I've just thought of the most brilliant idea," Ron said in an amazed voice.

"What? What?" I asked, excited, it's not everyday Ron thinks of something brilliant.

"I've thought of the perfect plan to get Luna to leave me alone."

"What is it?"

Ron paused, "Let me ask you something first. I need a girl's perspective of things."

I nodded my head, trying to think of what Ron could possibly be planning.

"Girls don't usually go for guys that already have girlfriends, right?"

"_Decent_ girls don't go after taken guys," I added.

"Yeah, yeah," Ron said, nodding his head, "So if I were to have a girlfriend, Luna would back off?"

"I guess so, yes. Luna would never steal someone's boyfriend," I said, as a matter-of-factly.

"Then it's settled," Ron said happily, "At the Quidditch World Cup, you are going to pretend to be my girlfriend!"

"What?!?" I yelled, flabbergasted, "What on earth makes you think I would do that?"

"That's the favor," Ron said firmly. I looked at him in confusion, "The favor you owe me for not telling anyone your secret!"

"Some friend you are," I muttered, "Real friends wouldn't bribe you…"

Ron chose to ignore this too, "Come on! It's just for two weeks. After that, we're even, and we'll be 'super' best friends once again."

"Why don't you ask some other girl?" I asked, annoyed.

"You're the only girl that I'm friends with," Ron stated.

"Oh," I replied, not sure of how to respond to that. It was actually kind of sad…

"But Luna would never believe us!" I exclaimed, "She would tell in a second that we're pretending!"

"You don't know that!" Ron pleaded, "Please! I won't annoy you ever again!"

"Fat chance," I mumbled, then a thought hit me, "I'm going as Herman, though, remember?"

"Doesn't mean you can't change," Ron said, confidently. Like brother like sister.

I still wasn't convinced, and Ron could tell. But then he started grinning like a maniac, "You don't want Harry to get mad, huh?" he said slyly.

"Wh-what are you talking about?" I asked, flustered. I had no such thought. Really.

"Yeah, right…." Ron said, laughing. So he's trying to trick me into saying yes now, huh? Well it's not gonna work. At least, I don't think so…

"Don't worry, Hermione! I don't expect you to _like me _like me. I already know you like Harry!" Ron said, laughing.

"I do not!" I replied immaturely.

"Then you wouldn't mind helping me then, will you?" smirked Ron, who knew he had already won this battle.

I sighed in frustration, finally giving in, "You owe me big time!"

"Yes!" Ron said, pumping his fist in the air.

It's not that big a deal, right? I mean, now I have an excuse to change into Hermione, without Ginny teasing me about it…

Just that second, Harry ran up to us, "Come on! Let's go! We're gonna be late!"

It was now that I realized what a stupid plan I agreed to. Gahhh…Ron really owes me big time. But in a way, he kind of helped me. I mean, everybody knows I don't like Harry. So, pretending to be Ron's girlfriend should be no problem. No problem at all.

* * *

**12 Days Later (A Week and a half)  
Morning-Great Hall**

"I hope we're not causing too much trouble," said Mrs. Weasley, "But I'll make sure they're not slacking on their studies!"

"It's quite alright," Dumbledore replied, "Just be sure to tell me all the details about the match!" he chuckled.

"We've got to get going," Mr. Weasley exclaimed, "The portkey's due to leave in an hour!"

"Well, get going then," Dumbledore urged, lightly pushing Ginny, "All the others have left already!"

"Others?" I asked, confused.

"Of course! You can't have expected you guys to be the only ones leaving for the Cup!" Dumbledore answered.

"Oh…" I said awkwardly. I seriously thought that we, besides Luna, were the only ones leaving.

"Who else is going?" Ron questioned.

"Hmm.. Draco Malfoy, of course, the Creevey Brothers," Harry groaned loudly at this bit of information, "Miss. Abbott, of Hufflepuff, Michael Corner, Ravenclaw, just to name a few. Many, many, others are going as well. I expect you'll see them at the Cup….Oh! And Miss Chang as well!" concluded Dumbledore.

"Cho?!" Ginny and I both exclaimed. We looked over at Harry and he looked like he was about to throw up.

"You okay, Harry?" Ron asked, "No big deal. I doubt we'll even see her at the Cup!"

Harry ignored him and began to follow Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.

Ron sighed, and followed Harry.

"Let's go, Hermione!" Ginny said, tugging my shirt, "We'll worry about her later!"

I nodded my head, and made my way over to the Weasleys' old car.

"Where's Fred and George? Bill? Charlie? Percy?" I asked.

"Percy's not coming. Not a fan of Quidditch. And the rest of them wanna apparate there, so we'll just meet them there," Ginny replied.

"Why don't we apparate there?"

"Cause Mum doesn't want any of us to get lost. Ron and Harry always manage to get to the wrong place all the time, so she just thought it would be better for us to all go together with the portkey." Ginny explained.

I nodded my head, imagining all the weird places Harry and Ron have ended up in.

"I wanna sit in the window seat," I said, once we reached the car.

"No, I want to!" Ginny argued.

"I'll take this window seat and you can have the other one."

"This is mine!" exclaimed Ron, who planted himself next to the other window, leaving Harry in the middle, "But I have an idea! I'll pick a number between 1 and 50. Who ever gets the closest gets the seat."

"That's stupid," muttered Ginny, "But whatever. I pick 49."

And now comes my strategic thinking. If I pick 48, then no matter what, I'll win. Cause even if it's like 12, I'll still be closer. Unless Ron picked 50. But there's no way he would pick a number so obvious!

"48," I said confidently.

"Ginny wins," he announced, "I picked 50."

I could seriously kick myself right now. But I just climbed into the car and sat down next to Harry. There was barely enough room for Ron, Harry, and myself, and when Ginny squeezed in next to me, I seriously couldn't move. Ron grunted when Ginny slammed the door and he got pressed up against the window.

"Why can't we enlarge the car?" I asked.

"Wanted to," Mr. Weasley replied, "But it's the corporate car and they won't allow me to make it enlarge any more. They don't want any muggle civilians to see a 10 people pour out of a convertible."

I nodded my head in understanding.

The whole ride was uncomfortable. Ginny's legs were scrunched against the door, Ron was basically sitting on top of Harry, and Harry's elbow was poking my rib, and I couldn't get the guts to tell him to move, cause he seemed to be in an angry mood, rather then sad.

And we didn't really feel like talking, with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley sitting in the front.

Finally, we arrived to a deserted field where I saw a group of people huddled in a circle.

"We must hurry!" said Mr. Weasley, and he sprang out of the car, and hurried to get our luggage out of the extremely small trunk, "Everyone's already there!"

Somehow, Ron managed to dislodge his arm from under Harry and pushed the door open. And we all poured out the car.

"I'm never going in that car again!" exclaimed Ginny, who was stretching her legs.

"Help with the luggage, children!" called Mrs. Weasley, who was dragging a shockingly bright yellow luggage across the field.

Harry ran to help Mrs. Weasley and Ron began to help his father with the other luggage.

Ginny and I together carried an extremely large suitcase across the ground to a family of five huddled around a rather grotesque old boot.

"Hurry up, Arthur!" called Mrs. Weasley, who had situated herself next to the a little boy who was holding his mother's hand.

"We're coming!" answered Mr. Weasley, who was dragging a total of three suitcases, and Ron who was carrying the rest.

"Geez. How much stuff did you bring, Ginny!" said an exasperated Ron.

"They're not all mine!" objected Ginny, "A lot of them are Herman's!"

"Oh, right…" Ron replied awkwardly, knowing perfectly well that I had packed luggages of girls' clothing and boys'.

Harry and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were already situated around the portkey, and Ginny, Ron, and I, had to squeeze ourselves inside the circle.

"Excuse me," I said, squeezing next to Ron and a little girl who was no older than seven.

The little girl giggled when she saw me.

Is there something on my face? I quickly wiped my face with my hand. Nothing. Then the little girl motioned for me to bend down.

I bent down and she whispered in my ear, "Why are you dressed like a boy?" she giggled.

"How did yo-" I stuttered, "I mean, what are you talking about?"

"You're a girl!" she laughed.

I finally gave up, "How'd you know?" I muttered.

"Cause you look like one!" she laughed.

"Well, don't tell anyone!" I warned.

"Why not?" she asked.

"Cause..we're..err…playing a game!" I announced.

"What kind of game?" she asked curiously.

"A secret one," I answered logically, "So you can't tell anyone, okay?"

She looked skeptical, so I added, "I'll give you a chocolate frog!"

"Three," she replied.

"Two," I said stubbornly.

"Four."

"Fine!" I whispered. I just got ripped off by a seven year old.

She giggled and said, "Come find me at the Cup, okay?"

"Yeah, whatever," I replied. Surely, she would forget..no big deal.

"One more minute!" called an out of breath Mr. Weasley.

We all extended our arms out to touch the filthy boot. It was rather hard, with all our luggages, but somehow we managed to fit.

Mr. Weasley was staring at his watch, counting down.

And finally, it was 11:00 am exactly, and we were transported to the Cup grounds.

It was a rather uncomfortable experience, but when we landed it was even worse. We all landed on top of each other and our luggage tumbled everywhere.

All the children were laughing, while everyone else, including me, were groaning.

Mr. Weasley was the first to recover, "Let's get moving! Don't want to get caught up in the crowd, now do we?"

Everyone grunted in agreement, and the other family got up and set off for the campground while we were still trying to gather our luggage.

But before they left, the little girl ran up to me, "I won't tell anyone okay? I like this game!" she giggled, "But don't forget my chocolate frogs, okay?"

I grunted, and she ran after her family, laughing and laughing.

"What was that all about?" asked Ron.

"Nothing," I answered. I'll tell him later.

"Come on!" called Ginny, who, along with Harry, Mr. Weasley, and Mrs. Weasley, were walking towards the campsite.

After a short, but excruciating walk, we finally made it to the campsite.

"The others are already here," Mrs. Weasley said, and led us off to our area.

Once there, we found four ordinary tents already set up, but inside, they were anything but ordinary.

"Hello!" called Mrs. Weasley, and immediately, four heads were stuck out of tent.

"Mum!" yelled Fred and George, who ran out of the tent, along with Bill and Charlie, who tagged along behind them.

"Hello, hello," Mrs. Weasley said hurriedly, "Let's get everything set up first. Arthur and I will be in the first tent," she pointed to the tent in the far left, "Fred, George, Charlie, and Bill will be in the tent next to us. Ron, Harry, and Herman, you boys will be next to them. And Ginny, you'll get that last tent."

"How come Ginny gets her own tent?" whined Ron.

"Cause I'm a girl! I need my privacy!" she snapped, and lugged her suitcases into her tent.

"Hello, I'm Bill," said the eldest Weasley brother, and shook my hand, "You must be Herman."

"Err..yeah.." I replied awkwardly. It was strange..them not knowing who I was.

"Name's Charlie," said the other Weasley brother.

"And we're Fred and George Weasley," said the twins, "The most devilishly handsome boys in the whole Weasley family!"

I scoffed, and they immediantly shut up.

"Don't we know you from somewhere?" they asked, suspicious. They got right up in my face, examining every little detail.

"I don-I don't think so," I answered nervously.

"Okay, then," they said cheerfully, and ran off into their tents.

I let out a sigh. It really need to find a better disguise.

* * *

**The Next Day-  
Morning**

Well, today's the day. Ron and I are going to find Luna and tell her we're going out. And once she gives up, our charade will be over. And Ron made me swear not to tell anyone, not even Harry or Ginny, because they might tell Luna on accident. And then it'll be even worse.

So I woke up early, left a note for Ron and Harry saying I was off exploring the campsite.

Then I snuck off into Ginny's tent, where I kept my other clothes. Ginny knew that I was going to change into a girl, but she didn't know why, so she wasn't surprised when she saw me in her tent. She grunted when she saw me, and went back to sleep. And by the time I was all dressed, everyone else had woken up.

So I had to sneak out the back of Ginny's tent, through shrubs and bushes, which I might add, were infested with insects.

Finally, I was out of sight of the Weasleys' and Harry. I began to walk back, this time on the trail, so it would seem like I was just casually strolling and then I would see them, and meet up. Blah, blah, blah.

"Is that you, Hermione Granger? I had absolutely no idea you were going to be attending the Quidditch World Cup," said Ron, obviously reciting the line he had memorized yesterday.

"Hermione?" asked Harry, whose face immediately lit up, for some reason. It was the first time I heard him talk since yesterday.

"Hey…" I said nervously, recalling the story I had some up with yesterday, "Some friends of mine had extra tickets and they wanted me to come. I didn't want to but I didn't want to waste them. It was last minute so I didn't get the chance to tell you yet."

"That's wonderful, Hermione, dear!" Mrs. Weasley said cheerfully, "Would you like some breakfast? Ron's friend isn't here right now, so we have extra."

"Sure," I answered, I was starving.

It was working out perfectly, except for all the lies Ron, Ginny, and I had to make up for all the questions that they asked me.

I was about to tell Ron that Luna wanted to talk to him, so the both of us could get away.

That was until Cho came.

"Hey, Harry," she said nervously.

Harry froze, and slowly looked up from his food.

"Good morning," she said to everyone, but then turned to me sharply, "And who are you?" she asked coldly.

"Uhmm…Hermione Granger..." I said, confused.

"And…" she waited for more.

"And what?" I snapped, now angry.

Within these few minutes, Mr. Weasley, Mrs. Weasley, Bill, and Charlie had snuck away from the area.

"Cat fight!" yelled Fred and George, until Bill and Charlie dragged them away.

"This is Hermione. She's a friend of Ginny's from Beauxbatons," Harry said firmly.

"Oh…you're _Ginny_'s friend," she said to me.

"She's _our_ friend," Ron and Harry said together, both ticked that she was here.

Cho looked taken aback, but continued on, "Well, nice to meet you, Hermione," she said, with a strange glint in her eyes, "Good to see you Harry! Maybe we could hang out sometime!" and with that she walked away, and I heard her say something that sounded strangely like, "Harry's mine."

What a psycho. Good thing Harry's completely over her.

I think.

* * *

Are you proud of me? 20 pages! On my computer at least. I'm not too happy with this chapter yet, but I decided I wanted to put it in anyways because it's been way too long since my last update. I'm sorry if this chapter's kinda confusing. And too much Ron/Hermione stuff for my liking.  
Bad ending, huh? I had no idea where to end, so I just stopped at 20 pages cause it was beginning to get too long.  
Well anyways, **more HHR next chapter**, for sures. And Ron and Hermione's little plan. And more of evil Cho. lol.I don't really know where this story's going right now…so if you have any ideas, suggestions, comments, anything, please tell me! I need them. haha.Till chapter 8 (which I have no idea when I'll be done)! Bye!

_Thanks to the lovely people who comment my story_: The Gryffindor Drummer. A Great And Terrible Beauty. ginsensu. Gurlonthemove. bluerosepunk. ZUTARAlove. Hotkat144. pumpkin-pie-princess1990. HeartAngel. Woof is woof. Lily and James Love 4 ever. TrindentGum48.


	9. Lost

**AN**- Wow! I actually updated earlier this time! I'm proud of myself! haha. On with chapter 8!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters.

* * *

**Recap**

_Cho looked taken aback, but continued on, "Well, nice to meet you, Hermione," she said, with a strange glint in her eyes, "Good to see you Harry! Maybe we could hang out sometime!" and with that she walked away, and I heard her say something that sounded strangely like, "Harry's mine."_

_What a psycho. Good thing Harry's completely over her._

_I think._

* * *

**Two Days Later  
Morning**

"He forgave her!" Ron cried, as he stormed into the tent, "That bloody bloke forgave her!"

"What happened?" I asked curiously, sitting up from the bed, and letting my book fall onto my lap.

Everyone had left early to go to the Quidditch Festival. All of the booths and food stands were set up last night, in preparation for the first match of the Cup. **(AN- It might be kinda confusing, but in this story, the Quidditch World Cup is going to have like preliminary matches, and all that until finally leading up to the finals)** I stayed behind, though. We still had about one and a half weeks left, and I could go anytime I wanted to.

"It's Harry! He took Cho back!" fumed Ron.

"What do you mean, 'Took her back'?" I questioned.

"He accepted her apology and all that rubbish. And now, apparently, they're 'going out' again!" cried Ron.

I burst out laughing, "HAHAHA! That's hilarious, Ron! Like Harry would _ever_ get back with Cho!"

Ron looked at me as though I was insane, "I don't know how to tell you this…but it's true. Since the breakfast incident two days ago, she's been tailing Harry day and night. Apologizing to him and asking him to get back together, blah, blah, blah."

My mouth dropped open, and when Ron realized I wasn't going to say anything, he began ranting on and on about Cho.

"I had to put up with three weeks of Harry's skulking because of her! When they broke up after fourth year, he was completely crushed. He might as well have not come to the Burrow that summer! All he did was sulk around the house, he didn't play wizards' chess, he didn't play Quidditch, he didn't even help me drop dung bombs on Percy!" cried Ron.

I nodded my head in agreement. I was already annoyed with one day of Harry's depression. I can't begin to imagine having to put up with three weeks of it!

"Why'd they break up in the first place?" I asked. It seemed to be a big mystery.

"Because she was studying abroad, and she didn't want Harry to 'distract' her from her studies! That's what she told Harry at least," Ron scoffed, "But I know for a fact that that's a load of dung. She found out that there were plenty of rich blokes that were attending her school, so she ditched Harry. Just like that!"

"How'd you figure that out?"

"Bill told me! He knows some of the teachers over there and, apparently, the whole school knows that Cho Chang is the school tramp that's been trying to get with almost every single guy at her school!"

I gasped, "That's low. Even for her!" but my surprise quickly morphed into anger, "Why on earth did Harry forgive her?!"

"He doesn't know…" answered Ron quietly, "If I told him that Cho left him for other guys, he'd probably drown himself. I mean, look, Cho didn't even tell him that she doesn't like him anymore. She just said that they couldn't be together cause she needed to focus on school. So Harry always thought that she still had feelings for him, you know? Even so, he was still a walking zombie just cause Cho went away. Imagine what he'd do if he found out that she left him for some rich guys!"

"I thought Harry was loaded! Why would she leave Harry if he's rich?"

"Cause he technically wasn't back then. During fourth year, Sirius, that's Harry godfather by the way," Ron added, "Was still alive, and he wanted to keep Harry's inheritance safe, so he didn't tell Harry about it. It was after he died that Harry found out that he was rich."

I nodded my head, but I still wasn't going to believe that Harry had forgiven that horrible girl, "The last time I saw them, Harry was pretty ticked off at her. Why the sudden change of heart?"

"Well, I told you! Harry always had a small shred of hope that Cho would come back. But over the years, he finally got over it. He actually got kinda mad that she didn't even try to talk to him after she moved. No letters, no phone calls, nothing. But when she came back a few weeks ago-"

"Harry's old feelings came back," I moaned.

"He tried to ignore her! He really did! But he finally gave in…"

"How could he? That stupid idiot…" I muttered angrily, feeling oddly possessive.

"Jealous, now, aren't you?" Ron teased.

"Am not," I growled, and threw a pillow at him.

"Well, hurry up! Get ready!" Ron chirped, changing the conversation.

"Ready for what?" I asked.

"You didn't forget, did you? Our little Get Luna To Stop Annoying Ron Operation?"

"Oh…right. _That_," I mumbled. We were supposed to talk to Luna two days ago, but after Cho's appearance, we decided to postpone it.

"Hurry up, then!" Ron said, shooing me into Ginny's tent to get changed, "I came back before everyone else, so that we could get this over with without anyone knowing."

"Fat chance…" I muttered, knowing full well that our little plan was bound to have some complications.

* * *

"I think her tent's this way…." I said turning left on the trial.

"You better be right," Ron grumbled, "You already got us lost twice!"

"Those were accidents!" I snapped. It was a big campground, and I wasn't exactly the best at remembering directions.

After about five minutes of brisk walking, we finally arrived at a small, isolated clearing, where two lone tents stood.

"Figures they'd pick a weird spot to camp…" growled Ron, who was in a bad mood already.

I ignored him, "Luna? Are you here?"

We heard some shuffling inside one of the tents, and out popped Luna's head.

"Ron! Hermione!" she called excitedly, and jumped out of her tent, "What a nice surprise!"

"Err..yeah…" I started nervously, "Actually, we wanted to talk to you about something."

"Oh, really? What is it? Is it important?" Luna asked curiously.

"Uhm…Luna? Are you alone? Is your father here?" Ron asked suddenly.

Luna looked confused, but answered the question anyways, "Nope. He's out taking pictures for _The Quibbler_."

"Oh…Just wondering…" Ron said nervously.

I stared at Ron, trying to figure out why he would ask Luna such a random question.

Luna went to fetch something from her tent, and Ron quickly whispered in my ear, "Her dad's not here! Now if she gets mad, she can murder us, and there will be no witnesses!"

"Don't be stupid, Ron!" I hissed.

"Yeah..whatever. But don't expect me to save your sorry arse when she goes nuts. She's bound to go for you first anyways…"

"So, what'd you want to talk to me about?" Luna said, walking out of her tent.

"Uhmm…Well, you see…" Ron began, then chickened out, "Hermione, you tell her!"

"No, you!" I snapped back.

"I don't wanna! You go!" cried Ron, who seemed to be scared beyond his wits.

"Fine!" I said, annoyed, "Luna…you know Ron and I treasure your friendship dearly, don't you?" She nodded, "So, we wanted you to be the first to know thatRonandIaregoingout!"

"What?" Luna said, confused, "I didn't hear the last bit."

I nudged Ron in the stomach, I started it, so he was going to finish it.

"Hermione and I…" Ron sucked in some breath, "We're dating!"

Luna looked bewildered, "You mean…dating _dating_?"

"Errr..yeah…" I said, not quite sure what she meant by that.

She didn't speak for about a minute, but to Ron and I, it felt like ages. I could see Ron glancing around the site, searching for a quick escape route.

"Congratulations," she said finally.

"What?!" Ron and I both cried.

"Congratulations! I'm happy for you!" Luna said, although she certainly didn't seem happy.

"Are you okay? Are you sick or anything?" I asked, genuinely concerned. We were expecting Luna to go nuts, not be happy for us.

"Yeah, I'm fine," She said nonchalantly, "I'm gonna go back into my tent now, if you don't mind." And she shuffled back into her tent.

Guilt was tugging at my heart. I can't believe I just did that! Luna's crushed! I know we haven't been the best of friends, but I still care about her. How could I have done this?

"Wow!" cried a flabbergasted Ron, "That went a lot better than I thought it would!"

"Ron!" I snapped angrily, "Couldn't you tell she was heartbroken? She was devastated!"

"Devastated is better than murderous!" Ron countered.

"She's still our friend! Don't you feel the least bit guilty?"

Ron shrugged, and began walking down the trail to lead us back, "Come on! Everyone's probably wondering where we are."

* * *

**Later That Day**

"Mrs. Weasley? Would you mind cooking a little bit more tonight?" inquired Harry, "I invited someone over."

"Sure, Harry, dear!" Mrs. Weasley replied cheerfully, "The more the merrier!"

"Who'd you invite?" I asked Harry.

"Cho," He replied nervously, his cheeks tinted red.

"Oh," was all I managed to say. I was not looking forward to eating with that lying, cheating, no good little monster.

"Mum! Cook more, okay! I invited Luna over too!" Ginny called from her tent.

I spit my pumpkin juice out, all over Harry.

"Okay, dear!" answered Mrs. Weasley.

"You okay, Herman?" Harry asked, patting my back, although obviously disgusted by the pumpkin juice that was all over his shirt.

"Yeah…I choked. Sorry 'bout that!" I said meekly.

"It's alright," He smiled, "I'm gonna go change now."

Once he was gone, I stormed into Ginny's tent, "How could you invite Luna!?!"

Ginny looked up from her _Witch Weekly_, "What do you mean, how? Her father's busy and I didn't want her to be alone!"

I groaned, knowing that inviting her over was the right thing to do, but I was still angry.

"You have no idea what happened this morning!" I cried, flinging myself onto Ginny's bed, "It's a really long story, but she kinda thinks Ron and I are going out."

Ginny looked at me flabbergasted, but decided not to ask, "I don't wanna know…But what do you want me to do about it? I can't leave her all by herself! There are some really weird maniacs out here!"

"I know, I know!" I said hastily, "I just need you to try and keep the conversation away from Ron and I, okay?"

"Sure..but why? It's not like anyone would really care…" Ginny trailed off, "Unless you're talking about Harry!"

"I'm not!" I quickly said, "I just don't want your Mum, and your brothers getting the wrong idea!"

Ginny scoffed, "Yeah, right! You don't want _Harry_ to get the wrong idea!"

"I don't care about Harry!" I snapped, "Besides…he's gonna be too caught up in Cho to notice anything!"

"Is little Hermione jealous?" teased Ginny, who burst out laughing.

I ignored her and said, "Just help me, okay? She knows about the whole Herman/Hermione thing too, and I don't want her to get mad and accidentally blurt it out."

"Don't worry! Nothing's gonna go wrong!" Ginny exclaimed.

I glanced at her, raising my eyebrows.

"I hope."

* * *

**Few Hours Later**

Dinner was taking place in Mr. and Mrs. Weasleys' tent, since it was the largest. Harry was already seated, fidgeting with the tablecloth.

"Calm down, Harry!" I cried, "You look like you're about to face off against Voldemort!"

"Haha. Hilarious," Harry said sarcastically, "Cho's going to be here any minute now, and nobody's even ready yet! Bill and Charlie wandered off somewhere, I don't even wanna know what Fred and George are doing. And Ginny's went to go fetch Luna-"

"By herself?" I said shocked, "If you haven't realized it yet, it's dark out! She could get attacked by maniacs!"

"What maniacs?" Harry retorted, "It's perfectly safe here!"

I scoffed, "Well, what about erklings? Blast-Ended Skrewts? Streelers?"

"Even if they were here, they'd be in the forest. Not near the campground!" reasoned Harry.

"Luna's campsite is right next to the forest, you prat!"

Harry gaped at me, "Oh…."

Just that moment, everyone stormed into the tent. Ron, George, Fred, Bill, Charlie, and, thank goodness, Ginny and Luna.

I scowled at Harry, "You're lucky they didn't get eaten!"

He grinned sheepishly, and was about to say something until a shrill voice called into the tent.

"Hello? Anybody here?"

"Of course there's people here, idiot!" I mumbled under my breath.

Harry rushed out of his seat to greet Cho while everyone else took a seat at the table. Mr. Weasley sat at the head of the table, with Mrs. Weasley at his right. I stayed in my seat next to Harry, with Ron on my left. Oh, and just my luck, Luna was sitting across from me.

"Wow, what a nice meal, Mrs. Weasley!" gushed Cho, "You must be a wonderful cook!"

"Suck up," I distinctly heard Ginny mutter.

Mrs. Weasley smiled politely, although I had a feeling she didn't like Cho either. Maybe she knew about her relationship with Harry. I wouldn't be surprised. Mrs. Weasley knows everything.

"Dig in, everyone!" exclaimed Mrs. Weasley, and everyone began tackling the dishes and conversation started.

"How's your father, Luna, dear?" asked Mrs. Weasley.

"Oh, he's fine. Just busy with the newspaper's all."

"You must get quite lonely…What'd you do all day?"

I gulped. Please don't say anything about…

"Actually, I had a little outing with Hermione and Ron today!" she grinned, mischievously.

"Oh, really, now? No wonder Ronald left early…Why didn't you tell us you were meeting Hermione? You should have invited her to come to dinner!" exclaimed Mrs. Weasley to Ron.

"Errr…" Ron mumbled. Ron certainly wasn't going to be able to get out of this one. So I did the only thing I could do. Get Ginny to help.

I cleared my throat loudly, enough to get Ginny's attention.

"She couldn't make it," Ginny quickly lied, "I talked to her about it and she said she was busy."

Mrs. Weasley nodded, but I knew Luna wasn't quite done yet.

"That's too bad. I would've been good for Hermione to come tonight. It would give her a chance to bond with her boyfriend's family!" she exclaimed loudly.

And just like that, all my guilt washed away. Note to self: Remember to kill Luna.

Everyone looked at her, confused. Everyone except for Ron, Ginny, and myself, of course.

"What on earth are you talking about?" asked Mrs. Weasley kindly, but curiously.

Luna said, surprised, "You mean you didn't tell them yet, Ron?"

Ron gulped loudly, and looked at me for help. I shrugged my shoulders helplessly. There's nothing we can do now.

"You see, Hermione and Ron are dating!" announced Luna loudly.

Forks and spoons clanged onto the plates as everyone gasped in surprise.

"Really?!" exclaimed Cho, who seemed positively delighted.

Luna nodded, and this brought everyone out of their trance.

"Congrats, Ron!" laughed Fred and George, "Finally managed to snag yourself a girl!"

Luna smiled triumphantly, and the smirk she directed at Ron and I was worthy of Malfoy.

Now, everyone was talking enthusiastically, discussing Ron and I. Everyone but Harry, that is. He was deathly quiet, and didn't even respond to Cho.

Gah! I'm so stupid! I should've told Harry! Now he thinks Ron and I are dating! Harry thinking that Ron and I were involved made me strangely depressed. Maybe cause we're best friends…Yeah. That must be why.

"That's wonderful!" cried Cho, who was downright ecstatic, "We should double date sometime! Harry and I, and Ron and Hermione!"

"What a great idea, Cho!" agreed Luna. Note To Self: Never _ever_ talk to Luna again.

"Uhmm..I don't think that's such a great idea," I said, trying to change their minds.

"Why not?" Luna mocked, "If I'm not mistaken, you don't even know Hermione!"

I hate you Luna. I really do. How on earth did I ever get along with this woman!? I shrunk back into my seat, knowing full well that if I said anything more, Luna was sure to reveal my secret.

"So it's set then!" Cho said excitedly, "How about tomorrow? The Chudley Cannons/ Tutshill Tornadoes match begins at six o' clock tomorrow. We wouldn't want to miss that, now would we? So why don't we meet here at around two thirtyish?"

"Errr…" Ron and Harry both grumbled. They didn't look the least bit interested in going.

"You should go, Ron, Harry!" urged Mrs. Weasley happily, "Besides, you have no plans for tomorrow."

Ron couldn't object to his Mum, so he agreed to go, as did Harry after much persuading.

"I'll go tell Hermione later then," grumbled Ron, and gave me a knowing glance, "What are we going to do tomorrow, anyways?"

Cho shrugged, and looked to Harry for ideas. But much to my pleasure, he ignored her.

"How about a picnic?" suggested Mrs. Weasley.

Ron nodded enthusiastically at this idea, and forgot his previous problems.

"I'll prepare the food then," Mrs. Weasley squealed, "This is going to be wonderful! My little Ronniekins going out on a date!"

"Mum!" groaned Ron, who immediately received sniggers from his brothers.

The rest of dinner went by without a hitch, and after Cho left, everyone felt slightly more relaxed. Finally it was time for Luna to go home as well. Charlie and Bill volunteered to guide her home, and they were waiting for her in front of the tent as she bid farewell to the rest of the family.

"I hate you, you know that right?" I growled as she came over to me.

"Yes. I do," Luna said smugly, "I might have gone a little over the top, but you can't blame me, can you? I mean, you're a girl too-" Luna paused, "You're not one right now, but that's beside the point. Anyways, you can't have expected me to not to feel the least bit hurt, now did you?"

I shrugged my shoulders stubbornly, and she continued on.

"Well, we're even now, okay? Don't worry…I'm not gonna tell anyone else about your Herman/Hermione plans. Making you go on a double date with Ron, Harry, and Cho is punishment enough for stealing Ron from me," Luna said logically.

"I didn't steal Ron from you," I snapped, which was the only thing I could come up with, without blurting out the fact that Ron and I were just acting.

Luna rolled her eyes, "You'll know I feel. Watching the love of your life with some other girl."

"Who? Harry?" I snorted, "He is _not_ the love of my life!"

"Yeah…whatever you say!" Luna said sarcastically, "I'll bet you'd have gotten into a fight with Cho by tomorrow night!"

"Good night, Luna!" I said, ending the conversation.

"Have fun tomorrow, _Herman_!" teased Luna, and ran up to get Bill and Charlie.

I swear. I have no idea how Ginny puts up with her!

* * *

**The Next Day  
2:30 pm**

"All set?" asked Cho, enthusiastically.

The three of us grumbled in response, and we set off, with Ron carrying the humongous picnic basket Mrs. Weasley had prepared.

"Where should we go then?" I asked, not sure where we were going to have our little picnic.

Cho grinned, "I know the perfect place!" And she took the lead, with Harry, Ron and I tagging along.

At first, we were following a trial, but soon, Cho cut into the forest and the path disappeared.

"Are you sure you know where we're going?" I asked nervously. It was trees and bushes around us…I don't think there's anyways you could find your way through.

"Of course I do!" snapped Cho, and she continued walking at a brisk pace for another fifteen minutes.

Cho was basically the only that was talking. Harry was strangely quiet, although occasionally giving Ron death glares. I was relieved when Cho finally said, "We're here!" and Ron dropped the basket with a loud 'thump.'

Even though it pains me to say this, Cho really did pick the perfect spot. I would've never guessed that in the middle of the forest, there would be a pond, and now there was a huge lake in front of us.

"Wow…" I whispered in awe, "How'd you find this place?"

"I flew over it one time, so I come once in awhile to enjoy the view. I don't think anyone knows about it..I've never seen anyone else here," Cho explained.

I stood there, admiring the glistening lake, while I heard Ron opening the basket and laying out all the food, not even giving the view a second glance. I walked over to Ron, and saw that Mrs. Weasley had packed a feast in the little picnic basket. She must have jinxed it, because there's no way that much food could've fit inside that little basket!

Ron didn't even wait for us to sit down. He immediately began digging in, stuffing everything within reach into his mouth.

"That's disgusting, Ron," I noted, and, as usually, he ignored me.

Once again, Cho took control of the conversation, and began telling us her life story. Harry and I tuned her out, and since Ron was busying stuffing his face, Cho was basically talking to herself, but she didn't mind.

I kept on sneaking glances at Harry, seeing if he was going to say anything, but he never did. He seemed to be deep in thought.

Finally, at ten till five, Ron declared that he was full. Not that any of us cared. We were finished about an hour ago.

"Now what?" I asked, looking around and seeing nothing to do.

"I was thinking about returning early…The Chudley Cannons are playing, and I want to get a good seat," said Ron nervously. That's just like him. Eating, then leaving.

"Oh..okay, then" said Cho, agreeing with Ron, "I want to go back too. Wouldn't want to miss the Tutstill Tornadoes!"

Ron glared at her, "You support the _Tornadoes_?"

"Of course!" snapped Cho, "Have you seen their seeker? He's _much_ better than that Krum fellow!"

"He is not!" snarled Ron, who was the Chudley Cannons number one fan, "The Cannons are gonna squash the Tornadoes!"

"Well, come on then!" cried Cho, "Let's get going!"

"I wanna stay for a bit," Harry said quietly.

We all stared at him. He had barely said anything the whole day.

"Why, Harry? Don't you want to go back and watch the match?" asked Cho, trying to persuade Harry to go. _She_ certainly didn't want to miss the match.

"You guys can go ahead," replied Harry, "I know the way back."

"Are you sure, Harry?" asked Cho, although I was sure, whatever his answer would be, she would leave anyway.

Harry nodded his head, and Cho simply shrugged her shoulders.

"Let's go then!" Cho exclaimed, and began making her way out the clearing.

"Do you want me to stay, Harry?" asked Ron, genuinely concerned.

"No, I'll stay," I cut in, "Go watch the game, Ron. I don't really care about the match anyways."

Ron smiled, relieved, and followed Cho. She glared at me, but didn't object. Big surprise. There's no way she was gonna miss this match.

After they left, Harry and I just lay there, on our backs, at the edge of the lake, staring into the cloudless sky. And this wasn't even an awkward silence. It was a comfortable silence, which I savored. I haven't been able to just sit and relax for a long time.

After about twenty minutes, Harry finally broke the silence, "So…you and Ron…"

I let out a sigh, knowing that Harry was going to ask sooner of later, "Harry…" I began softly, "I don't know how to tell you this…But it's all an act."

Harry immediately sat up, and leaned over me, staring at me with his mesmerizing green eyes; Trying to see what I was getting at.

I blushed, and looked away. "It was all a joke, Harry. A plan, a set up..whatever you want to call it. Ron just wanted to get Luna off his back, you know? So he came up with this plan that we were dating so Luna wouldn't bother him anymore."

Harry looked skeptical, "If it was all an act, then why didn't you guys tell me?"

"Because…" I stammered, not sure what to say, "I'm not sure if you know this or not, but you're a _terrible_ liar. And telling you wouldn't have been the brightest move, now would it?"

"Still…" Harry said stubbornly, "You could've told me. You won't believe how nervous I was! I kept on thinking that my two best friends were going to leave me behind!"

"Well, you know now," I replied curtly, "But if it makes you feel better, I swear that I will never, _ever_, lie to you again, okay?"

"Yes. That does make me feel better!" chuckled Harry, and my guilt of lying to Harry was immediately relieved.

We both lay down again on the grass, staring at the clear blue sky. Then I decided it was my turn to speak up.

"How about you and Cho?" I asked casually. I could feel his eyes on me, but I ignored it, and waited patiently for his answer.

"I've been thinking…" he began, "I don't think it's gonna work out. I mean, you can tell, she's completely self absorbed! Not to mention obnoxious and annoying and clingy and rude and-"

My heart soared at those words, and it took all my self control not to jump up and start cheering. "Oh, really? I would've never guessed. She seems like an angel!" I said sarcastically.

Harry raised his eyebrows, but continued on, "I think I'm going to breakup with her…tonight," he said nonchalantly, "But for good."

"Are you sure, Harry?" I asked sympathetically, although I really hoped he wasn't going to change his mind.

"Yeah," Harry replied, "I'm sure."

And we lay there for another twenty minutes, not talking. I closed my eyes and basked in the sunlight, feeling genuinely happy. All my problems and worries were gone.

"Should we go now, then?" inquired Harry, breaking the silence.

I nodded, and Harry got up, and lent me his hand. I grabbed it and he pulled me up. We brushed ourselves off before we began our trek back to the campsite.

"Why can't we just apparate back?" asked Harry, who wasn't looking forward to the long journey back.

"It's like Hogwarts," I explained, "Since the Cup's such a big event, they don't want to risk any dangerous wizards to apparate here and wreck havoc and what not."

"That blows…" Harry replied, and we began walking back.

oooooooooooooo

"Harry, the match is going to start in ten minutes!" I exclaimed.

"Okay, let's hurry then!" Harry said briskly, cutting through the forest.

"You do know where you're going, right?"

"Of course I do!"

"Then how come we passed the same tree two times?"

"Wha-What are you talking about?"

"We passed the same tree twice, Harry! I remember there was a big gash along the trunk!"

"No we didn't."

"Yes, we did!"

"No, we didn't!"

"Yes, we did!"

"Okay…Maybe we did."

I groaned in frustration, "We're not lost, are we?"

"Of course not!" said Harry offended, and began walking even faster.

After half an hour I cried, "We're lost aren't we?"

This time, Harry didn't even bother to object, "Yes. We are."

"HARRY!" I yelled, "We could get eaten! There are creatures in here, you know? Erklings and Blast-Ended Skrewts and Streelers!"

"Strange…" Harry muttered, "That's exactly what Herman said!"

I gulped loudly. I gotta be more careful. "Now what?" I cried, exasperated.

"Don't worry! Let's just walk around…I'm sure I'll see something familiar, that will jog my memory. Then we'll be back in no time. There's no use in hurrying anyways. The match's already started…and I don't really fancy the Cannons _or_ the Tornadoes."

"Whatever you say…" I sighed, and continued tailing Harry.

oooooooooooooooooo

**One and a half hours later**

"If we're not back in ten minutes, I swear I'm going to drop dead!" I yelled to Harry.

Harry turned around and grinned sheepishly at me, "Don't get mad, okay, Hermione?"

"Why would I be mad?" I asked suspiciously.

"Because I have absolutely no idea where we are."

I stopped dead in my tracks. For the past hour, Harry's been reassuring me with little 'We'll be there soon' and 'Oh, I recognize this! We should be close!'

"Harry, you prat!" I exploded, "It's getting dark, if you haven't noticed! And that's when they come out! The erklings, skrewts, streelers…and werewolves! And trolls! And dragons!"

"Calm down, Hermione!" cried Harry, who grabbed me by the shoulders, "you're getting paranoid! There aren't any werewolves, or trolls, or dragons here! You, of all people, should know that!"

I thought for awhile…and what Harry said was true. Werewolves, trolls, and dragons don't live in forests! Maybe I am getting paranoid….

"The worst would be blast-ended skrewts!" Harry concluded.

"That makes me feel _loads_ better. Thanks, Harry," I said sarcastically.

He smiled cheekily, and we, once again, began wandering the forest. At this point, we already had our wands out, and they were the only things lighting our way through the dark.

"Isn't there a spell you know that could get us out of here?" whined Harry, who was also beginning to tire.

I racked my brains for spells that could help us…but for once, I couldn't think of anything. The 'point me' incantation would only tell us where North is, and right now, we have no idea where anything is. I suppose we could shoot sparks into the air…but I doubt anyone would take notice of it. They'd probably think it was some fans celebrating.

"I've got nothing…" I replied, disappointed.

Harry moaned in frustration, "It must be at least 8:30 or 9, right? Do you Ron will come looking for us?"

I shrugged my shoulders, "I have no idea. I'm too tired to think," I complained.

"We can rest if you want," suggested Harry, and agreed enthusiastically.

We found a relatively comfy spot, which we cleared and cleaned with some spells. We even used a cushioning charm to make it more comfortable to lay on, and soon, Harry already started a fire with a simple spell.

"I'm wiped!" I cried, exhausted, and lay down. Harry and I had both extinguished our wands, so the fire was our only source of light. And the fire was relatively small too, as to not attract anything that might be lurking in the forest.

Harry lay down beside me, and soon, we were huddled against each other, trying to conserve heat.

"You know this is all your fault, right?" I said quietly, half asleep.

"Yeah…" murmured Harry, who seemed even more tired than I was.

And then…we feel asleep.

Then all of a sudden, I heard a sharp 'crack' of a stick being stepped on, not too close to us, but not too far, and my eyes shot open.

At this point, Harry's arms were wrapped around me protectively, and I didn't want to ruin the moment, but I was scared out of my wits.

"Harry," I whispered urgently into his ear, "Did you hear that?"

"Mhh-hmm…" muttered Harry, who was still deep in sleep.

"Wake up!" I hissed, and lightly pushed him.

"Okay, okay!" Harry snapped, opening his eyes, "What is it?"

"Did you hear that?" I repeated.

"Hear what?"

"Hear a twig snap."

"Could've been a bird," he answered logically.

"Go check!" I said, scared.

"Why me?" whined Harry, who began to close his eyes again.

"Just go!" I retorted, and he groaned, unwrapping his arms from me. The instance Harry released his embrace, I instantly regretted waking him up. Maybe it's because he was shielding me from the cold….yeah. That's it.

Harry retrieved his wand from his back pocket, and quietly began walking towards the area where I had heard the noise.

Whew…there's chapter 8. I had to revise this chapter a lot! My original chapter 8 is completely different! But I hope I change it for the better! lol. Anyways, I hope this chapter isn't too confusing.

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So…next chapter. Hermione starts to realized feelings about Harry. Since she's been thinking of excuses this whole chapter..she'll finalyl give in...I think. haha. You'll have to wait and see. Also, you'll find out what…or who…Hermione heard in the forest and ultimately how Harry and Hermione get out. And also, the Harry/Cho breakup! I'm looking forward to writing that…haha. Maybe that'll motivate me to update earlier.

Once again, comment please! Ideas, suggestions, mistakes I made, anything will be good!

Till chapter 9! Byee!

_Thanks very very much to the people who commented:_ HeartAngel. pinkbaguette. Silbemetato. Lily and James 4 ever. Gurlonthemove. Hotkat144. SavageGardenFan. Harry's My Boy. The Celtic Amazon. Nymoue. The Gryffindor Drummer.

**PS**- If you've commented and I've forgotten to put you on here, please tell me. Then I'll put it on!


	10. Breakups, lamb chops, and lavender

**AN**- I'm not dead!!!! lol. I'm sooooo sorry I didn't update for 2 months! I've just been battling a massive writer's block…and I've been on vacation for the past two weeks. Haha. But on the plane ride back, I finally decided that no matter what, I was gonna crank out chapter 9. So here you go!

Actually…this is chapter 10 now! I've decided to name my chapters…because since I had a prologue, chapter 1 was actually chapter 2 on fanfiction and then everything just got weird. So I decided to make names for my chapters. So here's chapter 10!

**ALSO- **Thanks a bunch _**Harry's My Boy**_! At first I already had the idea of having Cho finding Harry and Hermione, but I really didn't know how to incorporate it into my story. But then you suggested that she was snogging someone else in the forest and I was like, "That's perfect!" haha. So props to Harry's My Boy!

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter.

* * *

**Recap:**

_"Hear what?"_

_"Hear a twig snap."_

_"Could've been a bird," he answered logically._

_"Go check!" I said, scared._

_"Why me?" whined Harry, who began to close his eyes again._

_"Just go!" I retorted, and he groaned, unwrapping his arms from me. The instance Harry released his embrace, I instantly regretted waking him up. Maybe it's because he was shielding me from the cold….yeah. That's it._

_Harry retrieved his wand from his back pocket, and quietly began walking towards the area where I had heard the noise._

* * *

  
Maybe that was a bad idea. Maybe I shouldn't have sent Harry out there by himself. I mean, he's been gone for more than twenty minutes…

A werewolf could be gobbling him down right now! Or blast-ended screwts. Or giant spiders. Or dugbogs. Or graphorns. Or lethifolds….

I think I just killed Harry Potter.

"Harry!" I called out feebly.

No reply. "Harry!" I called out, with more intensity.

Please don't let him be dead. Please don't let him be dead. Please don't let him be de-

A rustling of leaves behind me interrupted my thoughts.

"Harry?" I said, "Is that you?"

Once again, no reply.

"Who's there?" I yelled, determined not to sound afraid.

I scanned the trees, and caught a glimpse of someone standing in the shadows. Round shouldered and tall. And I could make out thick eyebrows and a curved nose. He looked oddly familiar. But I didn't have anytime to think. I cautiously slid my hand into my back pocket, reaching for my wand.

But before I could get it out, the stranger slipped away, and out of my sight.

"Hey, wait!" I yelled, but he did not return.

"Hermione?" I heard a voice call from behind.

"Harry!" I cried, ecstatic, "You're okay!"

"Of course I am!" he laughed, "Did you think I was gonna get eaten or something?"

"No," I said quietly…I get the feeling he knows me _too _well sometimes…

"Anyways…Guess who I found in the forest? It was-"

"Harry, honey!" an annoying voice called.

"Cho," I sighed. Just great.

"Oh, Hermione. You're still here," sneered Cho, stepping out of the trees.

I ignored her, "What's she doing here? And by herself?"

Cho answered instead of Harry, "I was out here looking for Harry, out of the goodness of my heart," she snapped, "And I wasn't by myself! I was with K-" She stopped abruptly, "Never mind that! Let's just get back to the campsite now, shall we?"

It was then that I noticed her smudged lipstick and tousled hair. To say it bluntly, she looked like she's been in a rather intimate snogging session. But with who?

I decided not to mention my little observation to Harry. Instead, I whispered, "You know she's lying, right?"

"Of course!" he scoffed, "She would never do anything 'out of the kindness of her heart'!"

"Too true," I chuckled, and we sped up to catch up with Cho, who had managed to tame her hair and wipe off her lipstick.

"Do you know what time it is?" I asked, looking up at the sky. It was still dark.

Harry shrugged, "I'd guess around 11:00…maybe even midnight."

After ten minutes of brisk walking, we caught sight of our campsite.

"You mean it was only ten minutes away?!" I cried in exasperation.

"I knew we were close!" cried Harry triumphantly.

I snorted, and began walking faster.

"Do you smell that?" I asked Harry, once we got closer to our campsite, "It smells like…pumpkin pie," I concluded.

Harry nodded hungrily, and it was then that I noticed that I was starving. We haven't eaten for a long time. And we barely ate at our little picnic. Ron ate everything!

"It's coming from our area…" said Harry, and before long we saw the whole Weasley clan, except Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, who I suspect already went to bed, crowded around a large table inside Fred and George's tent.

"Why are you guys _eating_?" cried Harry.

"What do you mean?" asked Ron, whose mouth was stuffed with Mrs. Weasley's famous pumpkin pie.

"Haven't you realized that Harry and I were missing?!" I yelled.

"Not missing," reasoned Ron, "I just haven't seen you for half a day."

"Well, weren't you wondering where we were?" spat Harry, "For your information, Hermione and I have been lost in the forest for hours!"

"I thought you guys were still at the match. You know, at the fair. The Cannons and Tornadoes and some other teams are giving out autographs and stuff," said Ron meekly.

"Why would we be there?" I cried, exasperated, he knew I hated Quidditch. And Harry wouldn't waste his time on getting autographs of teams he didn't even like.

Ron shrugged, "Jeez, you guys. What matters is that you're not lost now, alright? Just sit down and eat. We're all having a little meal before we head off to bed."

We were still mad that no one had thought to find out where we were, but we were starving and decided to let it go. And the food looked delicious. And it wasn't even a little meal. It looked like a feast. Everything from pumpkin pie to mash potatoes. From lamp chops to turkey.

"Where's Cho?" I asked, realizing that she had disappeared.

Harry shrugged, "I dunno. Probably went to her tent."

That's when I got to thinking. Why would she come looking for us? Nobody even realized we were gone. She's the last person to notice. She must have been in the forest for _some _reason...

"Well, go look for her then!" I said finally, remembering what we had talked about at the lake, "Don't you have some…_business_ to settle with her?"

Harry looked at me confused, then realized what I meant, "Right," he said, and got up, walking towards her tent.

"What business?" Ron asked, swallowing a mouthful of turkey.

"He's breaking up with Cho," I said triumphantly.

Ron gaped, "Really? Why?"

"Cause he wants too, that's why!" I snapped, "But that reminds me…do you know where she went after the match?"

"I dunno. After we left you guys at the forest, we got to the stadium, and we split up. She went with her friends, and went to go sit with Fred and George. Didn't see her after that. But I think I caught a glimpse of her getting Viktor Krum's autograph. They look pretty close."

"That's him!" I cried.

Ron looked at me, confused.

"I saw him! In the forest, when Harry and I were lost! It makes sense now! She wasn't looking for us. She was snogging Krum in the woods…but then Harry and I were there. And Krum ran away before Harry found her. And she made up an excuse that she was looking for us. But that's impossible cause even you didn't realize we were missing."

"I didn't get a word you just said. But as long as you get it…" Ron said, and helped himself to more food.

I sighed. That's Ron for you.

All of a sudden, I heard a shrill shriek from outside.

"Shhh!" I heard a male voice whisper, "Quiet! Everyone can hear you!"

"I don't care!" the other voice replied, "How could you?"

"Quiet, everybody!" I called, desperate to hear what was going on. And soon, everyone has dead silent, listening to the argument.

"How could I?" I heard Harry say, "You're completely self-absorbed. And obnoxious. And might I add a big liar."

Cho gasped, "I am not!" she cried immaturely.

There was silence, than I heard footsteps heading back towards the tent.

"Don't walk away from me!" Cho cried, but the footsteps continued.

"It's because of _her _isn't it?" she shrieked, "Hermione Granger!"

Harry stopped, "What on earth are you talking about?"

"You'd rather be with that bushy-haired loser than me!"

I didn't hear the next few lines, due to Ron's 'comforting' words. ("Don't worry, 'Mione. You hair's not _that_ bushy")

"It has nothing to do with her," said Harry firmly.

"Oh, and you say I'm the liar!" Cho screeched, "It has _everything_ to do with her!"

"No it doesn-"

Harry's words were cut off with Cho's heavy footsteps. And soon, she charged into the tent like a bull.

Her hair was flying in all directions and she looked absolutely furious. And her eyes were fixed into a death glare, directed straight at me.

"You!" she yelled, "It's all your fault!"

And by now, I was already out of my chair, slowing backing away from her.

"Ch-Cho…" I stammered, "Calm down, alright? We should really talk this out..."

"Calm down?!?" She shrieked, "I'm perfectly calm!"

I heard George snort, but one look from Cho shut him up.

I glanced helplessly at Ron, but he looked just as scared as I was. Cho looked absolutely murderous.

"What Harry said is true," I said nervously, slowing backing my way away from her, while she was slowly advancing on me, "I really had nothing to do with it…"

Okay…well maybe I did. But right now, I was willing to say just about anything to save myself right about now. I mean, Cho might be a girly girl, but all that Quidditch she does must have given her some kind of strength. Enough to strangle me, I'd guess.

"You were listening to us!?!" She screeched.

"Uhmmm…no?" I said weakly, and I felt my back hit the wall of the tent. She had me cornered now.

She let out a loud screech, and I shut my eyes, bracing myself.

SMACK.

And no. She didn't slap me.

It was large glob of mash potatoes.

I slowly lifted my hand, wiping the potatoes away from my face, disbelieving.

Oh no she didn't. She didn't just throw mash po-

BAM.

I looked down at my stomach.

And no, it wasn't mash potatoes.

It was a rather large piece of pumpkin pie.

"That's it!" I shrieked, tired of having food thrown at me. I wasn't scared now. I was angry. Furious. Cho's gonna get it now.

I stomped up to the table and grabbed Ron's goblet of pumpkin juice, much to his protest, and threw the thick liquid at Cho's snarling face, drenching her pitch-black hair.

I heard everyone, including Cho herself, gasp.

"Hmph," I said, triumphantly, but it wasn't over yet.

"Hermione!" I heard Ron cry, "Watch out!"

And before I could respond, Cho smashed the entire bowl of mash potatoes in my face.

"This is for stealing Harry from me!" she cried.

"Ohhhhhh!" I heard everyone yell.

I wiped my eyes, and attempted to dump the salad, which had quite a lot dressing I might add, onto Cho's head.

But most of it ended on George, due to the mash potatoes that were covering my face.

"Watch where you're throwing that stuff, 'Mione!" he snapped.

With a yell, Cho jumped onto the table, and poured the bowl of fruit punch over my head, and within seconds I was completely drenched.

By now, I knew this little food fight wasn't going to end anytime soon. The tent soon became a scene of chaos, with everyone joining in on the fight.

Charlie and George were already running around the table, grabbing the forks and knives, and stashing them under the chairs, so Cho and I couldn't reach them. They didn't want anyone to _die_.

"Go, Hermione!" Ginny yelled, who was standing on her chair, trying to get a better look.

"Ten galleons on Hermione!" yelled Fred, who had an empty bowl over his head as a helmet, to protect himself from the food flying all over the tent.

"Five galleons on Hermione!" someone else yelled.

"Five sickles on Hermione!"

"Whoever said that is pretty cheap!"

"Hey! Not my fault I'm broke!"

"Five galleons on Cho!"

"Who said that?!"

"Bill."

"Bill, you traitor! We're supposed to be rooting for Hermione."

"Cho does Quidditch, mates! She has arm strength. Did you see that glob of mash potatoes she threw! It was like a rock!"

"True…two galleons on Cho!"

"You prats! Have you ever gotten Hermione angry? If you have, you _know_ what she can do!"

And soon, all the Weasley boys, minus Bill, began switching their bets back to me.

All the while, Cho and I were still battling.

By now, we both looked more like the giant squid than human beings.

I grabbed a plate of spaghetti, and overturned the contents all over her head, "That's for being an obnoxious prat!"

She yelled, and grabbed a bowl of ranch dressing, which she threw at me.

Dressing _and_ bowl.

I screamed, and ducked. I managed to miss the bowl, which soared over my head, but I got hit by most of the dressing.

"Oww!" yelled George, who got hit by the flying bowl, "Why am I always the one that gets hit?!"

I ignored this, and I quickly scanned the table, searching for my next weapon.

There it is! Chicken soup! It was cold, mind you. I'm not mad enough to throw steaming hot soup at someone!

I lunged for it, but a pair of arms pulled it away.

"I want that!" Ron said stubbornly, "Take these!" and handed me a plate of cupcakes, completely covered in frosting and topped with whipped cream, "I already had five."

I grabbed the plate of cupcakes without objection, and began pelting them at Cho.

The first one hit her in the arm, leaving a great blob of frosting.

"Go for the face, Hermione!" yelled Ginny.

But before I could oblige, Cho charged at me, eyes ablaze with anger.

She grabbed the bowl of ice, and came around behind me, and poured them down my shirt.

I screamed, and began jumping up and down like a lunatic. Well, what do you expect? Having ice slide down your back is not a good feeling.

"You evil witch!" she spat, "You must have used some..some love potion or something to make Harry like you!"

"She did not!" yelled Ginny in my defense. And as a finishing touch, she threw a cupcake at her, and her throw was surprisingly accurate. It hit her right in the face.

Cho was about to chuck something at Ginny, before someone yelled to me, "The lamb chops, 'Mione! They're right next to you!"

I jumped for the remaining lamb chops, and ran behind her, pouring them down _her _shirt.

"At least I'm not snogging guys, like, say Viktor Krum, behind my boyfriend's back! I mean…_ex_-boyfriend!" I screeched.

A chorus of gasps filled the room.

Ouch. That was pretty mean. I shouldn't have said that, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sa-"

Cho let out a loud yell. And I didn't think it was possible, but she became even angrier.

She lunged at me, and started pulling my mash potato-covered hair.

"BOOOO!" shouted Fred and George.

"Cheater!"

And soon, Fred, George, and Ron began pelting her with fruit. Oranges, mangoes, pears, bananas, you name it. No watermelons, thank goodness. I don't want her to have a concussion.

Cho let go as soon as Ron threw a banana that hit her in the eye.

"Nice one, Ron!" laughed Fred, who gave Ron a high-five.

I was extremely tired at this point. I mean, it's tiring throwing food. And getting hit by it.

And a certain person noticed.

"Here, 'Mione. Take this," said Harry, who I noticed was covered in buffalo wings and mustard.

"What happened to you?" I asked, flabbergasted.

"Don't ask," he said, chuckling, "Now, take this." And he handed me the large chocolate cake Mrs. Weasley had prepared.

"Are you sure?" I asked, hesitantly.

He nodded, and I took the cake from his hands.

I held the cake in two hands, and slowly advanced on Cho, who was temporarily blinded by the banana that Ron had thrown. And with all the strength I had left, I slammed it into her face.

Everyone cheered, and began talking at once.

I collapsed onto my chair, exhausted, not to mention dirty. It's going to take many _many _showers to get all this gunk off.

Everyone was laughing and cheering until a shrill voice broke through the celebrations,

"What on earth is going on in there?" called Mrs. Weasley from outside the tent, "I made enough food for everyone, didn't I?"

I covered my ears, knowing what was coming next.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!" wailed Mrs. Weasley.

All eight of us, Ron, Ginny, Fred, George, Charlie, Bill, Harry, and myself, hung our heads in shame.

Cho was in the corner, trying to wipe chocolate off her face. But it didn't really look like chocolate anymore...it looked rather like dung..due to Ginny squirting mustard in her face afterwards.

"Just having a little fun, Mum," said George brightly.

Mrs. Weasley gave him a death glare, and he shut up.

She scanned the room, and her eyes flickered when she reached Cho and I.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Weasley. I really am-" I began.

She was surprisingly calm, "Not now, dear," she said.

I immediately closed my mouth, letting Mrs. Weasley do all the talking.

"You," she snapped at Cho, "Go home. Now."

With no objections, Cho got up and ran out of the tent. But not before whispering in my ear, "This isn't over."

I pretended I didn't hear her. I really didn't care what she had to say at this point.

"Now that she's gone, will someone explain to me what has been going on in here?" asked Mrs. Weasley angrily.

Nobody volunteered.

Mrs. Weasley clicked her tongue, trying to decide what to do next. She directed her gaze at me.

"Hermione. You explain because you seem to be the most," she searched for the right word, "the most..involved," she concluded, gesturing at the food that was clinging at me.

"Errr…" I really had no idea what to say, "Uhm…you see…"

"It's not her fault," said Harry, stepping out from the crowd and standing next to me, "Cho and I had some….errr..business we needed to settle. And she got a little out of control…"

I could tell that Mrs. Weasley knew what 'business' Harry meant, but she didn't seem satisfied with his answer.

"It was all Cho's fault, it was!" yelled Ginny.

Everyone murmured in agreement, and Ginny continued, "She stormed in here like a mad woman and started chucking food at Hermione! And 'Mione had no choice but to fire back. It had nothing to with Hermione or Harry, Mum!"

I know Mrs. Weasley knew this wasn't the whole story. But I have a feeling she disliked Cho just as much as everyone else in the room. So she decided to let it go, but not without punishments.

Mrs. Weasley decided not to say anything more. Instead, she went straight to punishments. "Since you made the mess, you children are going to clean it all up. No magic."

Everyone, especially Fred and George, groaned in protest, "But Mum!" complained Fred, "It's just a tent! Besides, it's mine and George's tent. We don't really care if it's covered in food!"

George nodded in agreement, "I like it! We can eat whenever we want to!"

"That's disgusting, George," retorted Ginny.

"Hey!" cried Bill and Charlie together, "It's our tent too! And we don't want it to be covered in food! That's gross, you guys."

"No objections," snapped Mrs. Weasley, "This tent had better be spotless by the time I wake up," and she changed the subject, "Hermione, dear, you can head on home. Wash up and such."

I felt really guilty, leaving them behind to clean up, so I volunteered to stay, "It's okay, Mrs. Weasley. I'll stay and help clean up."

"No, dear, I don't want to trouble you," said Mrs. Weasley warmly.

"No, I insist," I pleaded.

"Yeah, Mum! Let her stay! She made most of the mess anyways!" snapped George, who had a big bruise on his forehead, due to the bowl that had hit him, and was covered in salad dressing due to the salad I had spilled on him. I guess he was still mad.

Mrs. Weasley ignored him, but decided to let me stay, "Okay, well don't stay too long. And when you're done, be sure to let one of the boys bring you home. It's dangerous for a girl to be walking home in the dead of night."

I nodded my head, and she, along with Mr. Weasley, headed back to their tent to get some sleep.

But before they were out of ear shot, I distinctively heard Mrs. Weasley mumble, "About time Harry dumped that girl. I never really liked her…"

I laughed to myself, but then began scanning the room. This is gonna take a long time…the walls were covered in food, and plates and bowls were all over the floor. And the table looked more like war zone than a place to eat.

"Where to begin?" I mumbled to myself.

"I'll clean Hermione!" screamed Fred, once he made sure his mother was in her tent. He ran up to me and used his finger to wipe some mash potatoes off my cheek. Then he stuck it in his mouth, and wiped his finger clean.

"It's still good!" he announced, and attempted to lick arms which were covered in a mixture of beef stew and creamed corn.

"That's disgusting, you prat!" I screeched, and wretched my arm away.

He shrugged his shoulders, and ran off, attempting to 'clean' Ron, who started screaming and running, only to have George start chasing him as well.

I went to the farthest wall of the tent, and conjured up some rags and buckets of water, using my wand. A little magic wouldn't hurt.

Since the wall was absolutely drenched in ranch dressing, cheese, cupcakes, and who-knows-what, I decided to just throw all the water onto the wall. Maybe that would wash some of the gunk off.

I grabbed the bucket, and held it with both hands. It was quite a big bucket, so it took a lot of strength to throw.

I held it like I was about to put out a small fire, and with all my might I swung the water out and onto the wall. I closed my eyes just incase the water would splash into my eyes. But surprisingly I didn't hear the water hit the tent wall. So I cautiously opened my eyes.

And in front of me stood a thoroughly drenched Harry.

I was speechless, "I am so sorry, Harry!" I said sincerely, but then I realized it wasn't completely my fault, "I didn't see you! Why'd you have to stand in front of me like that! Didn't you see me about to throw a _bucket of water_?"

"I didn't know!" snapped Harry, "Your eyes were closed! Why would you throw a bucket of water with your eyes closed?"

He took off his glasses and began wiping them with his shirt, but that only made them more wet.

I ignored that comment, and snatched his glasses, "Here, let me do it!" I muttered a spell, and his glasses were immediately dry.

It was then that I noticed that Harry was shivering. I wonder why...is he sick or something?...

I'm such an idiot! Its freezing and he's soaked with ice cold water!

I conjured up some towels and began wiping him dry.

"I'm so sorry, Harry!" I cried, while racking my brains for a drying spell. None came. So I settled with using the towel and furiously drying his hair, like a mother with a son.

"It's no problem," he said kindly, forgetting our little spat a few minutes ago, "But could you let up with the drying? I feel like my hair's gonna fall off."

"Sorry!" I said again, and immediately dropped the towel, letting him wipe himself dry.

"Well, what are you doing here?" I asked bluntly.

"Is it that surprising that your best friend would rather clean with you than with two maniacs who are trying to eat you?" he laughed, gesturing at Fred and George who were trying to lick Bill, whose long hair was covered in ketchup.

I laughed, and handed him a rag.

We were silent for a minute, until Harry spoke up.

"I'm sorry. It was all my fault…" he said nervously, "She shouldn't have…errr..thrown food at you like that."

"It's not _all_ your fault. If I didn't mention her and Krum in the forest, I don't think she would've gotten as mad as she did," I said, but immediantly shut up, remembering that Cho _was_ his ex-girlfriend.

"It's okay," Harry said softly, "I'd expect something like that from her. But as of this moment, I'm completely over her!" he announced triumphently.

I chuckled, "Good for you!"

Harry laughed, "But I really am sorry. It's going to take ages to get all this food off you! And your clothes are going to be stained!"

"Don't worry about it! I'm sure Mrs. Weasley will get the stains out somehow!" I chuckled.

And we went back to joking around. We stayed on task most of the time…until the occasional instance when we would accidentally splash soap on the other. Then we would get into a little water fight before we got back to work.

We were contently cleaning for about thirty minutes, until Fred spoke up, "This is going to take forever! We're never going to finish!"

George nodded his head in agreement, "I've got an idea! Let's go get Herman! An extra pair of hands will do a lot of good!"

"Herman wasn't even here..why should he need to help _us_ clean?" reasoned Bill, "If I were Herman, I wouldn't want to waste _my_ time cleaning."

"But-Bu," George said stupidly, "But since he's living with us, he should help!" and he began stomping out of the tent, intent on waking up Herman to help us clean.

Think fast, Hermione! What to do..what to do…

And once again, it was Ginny coming to the rescue.

"I'll wake him up!" chirped Ginny.

George looked at her weird, but didn't object.

And with that, she hopped out the tent, signaling me to go out with her as well.

"Uhm…I'm gonna get some fresh air," I announce, and calmly walk out of the tent.

Harry just shrugs his shoulders, and gets back to cleaning.

Ginny's waiting for me outside the tent, "What are we gonna do now?" she whispers urgently.

"I don't know! I thought you had a plan!" I snap.

"I was just stalling for time!" she began, "But now what?"

"Uhmm….go tell them I wouldn't wake up!"

"If I told them that, George would come wake you up himself, and that would mean even more problems!"

"Well, what do you want me to do then?" I said, irritated.

"We don't have a choice. I guess you just have to go back to Herman."

"Uh….do you know what I look like right now? I can't clean off all this food in five minutes!"

"That's where you're wrong," said Ginny slyly, "I know some spells that could get you clean just like that!" and she snapped her fingers for effect.

I looked at her, disbelieving, "Are these spells even _safe_?" I asked her.

"Of course they are!" snapped Ginny, "Now are you gonna trust me or not?"

I didn't know what to say, so I just grunted.

"I'll take that as a yes then," and she pushed me into the tent I shared with Harry and Ron.

"Just relax, alright? This will only take you a second. I'll do the spells to change you back into Herman too," she said controllably.

Before I knew it, all the potatoes were out of my hair, and my arms and legs were spotless. Even my clothes were clean. But I smelled horrible. Like all the food that was thrown at me, except rotten.

"I smell horrible, Ginny!" I complained.

"I don't have a spell for that…"

"I'll just use my lavender spray," I concluded, and grabbed it from my trunk.

"Uhm...Shouldn't you use cologne? Or some manly scent. Guys don't smell like lavender flowers."

"Nobody will notice."

"Whatever you say…" she retorted, "Now hurry up and change into your guy clothes. They're waiting. I'm gonna go back first, and tell them you're changing out of your pajamas or whatever." And she skipped off, back to Fred and George's tent.

Within minutes I was back in the tent, clean and refreshed.

"Herman! You're here!" said Fred cheerfully, but then he said rather rudely, "Help us clean!"

I glared at him, but set to work.

"Where's Hermione, Ginny?" asked Harry curiously, "Did you see her outside? She said she wanted to get some air."

"Ohhh…uhmm…." Ginny stuttered.

We had completely forgotten about that aspect of our so-called plan. In their eyes, Hermione had just disappeared, and Herman came out of nowhere.

"She had a headache…" Ginny began, "And, uhm, she decided to go back to her campsite and rest."

Ginny is seriously the best liar I know.

"By herself?" asked Harry, with a hint of anger, "You let her go by herself? It's dangerous for a girl to be by herself at night!"

Everyone looked at him strange, so he quickly said, "I mean…that's what Mrs. Weasley said. That one of us should walk her back…." He trailed off.

"I think I can still catch up to her," Harry said meekly, "I'll go!"

"No, Harry!" I cried.

"Errr…why not?" he asked, confused.

"Because you need to stay here…and…help clean!" I said brightly.

"Well, we can't let her walk by herself!"

"I know, I know!" I said hurriedly, trying not to get Harry angry. Although I was kind of happy that he was so intent on walking me back…

But that's only because he's one my best friends! He should care…yeah. That's it.

"Uhm….we could send Ron!" I suggested.

"Why Ron?" asked Harry.

"Yeah! Why me?" asked Ron, who clearly didn't get my plan.

"Because…" Think Hermione. Think! "Because he's barely helping us clean anyways! He's just sitting there eating the rest of the food."

"Hey!" he cried in protest, "I'm cleaning the plates!" he muttered.

"Just go!" I sighed, exasperated.

When he walked past me, I whispered to him, "Just wait outside for a few minutes, then come back in, saying you walked me home, alright?"

He grunted, and headed out into the chilly night air.

He returned within twenty minutes, and got back to 'cleaning' the plates. Overall, it took us about two hours to clean the tent. And by the time we were done, we were exhausted.

Everyone took a quick shower to clean off the food, then went to bed.

"Ughhh….I feel like my shoulders are about to pop off!" groaned Harry, who was sleeping in the bunk below me.

"I feel like my stomach's about to explode!" whined Ron, who had the single bed.

"That's what you get for stuffing your face with food for _hours_," I snorted, "Well, I'm tired. I'm gonna sleep now."

Both murmured in agreement, and Harry used his wand to turn off the lights.

There was silence for about ten minutes, until Harry spoke up.

"Hey, Ron? Herman?"

"What?!" groaned Ron, who I expect had just fallen asleep.

"Yeah?" I asked, I hadn't fallen asleep yet.

"Do you guys smell something?"

"No," said Ron bluntly.

I sniffed that air. Nothing but my lavender spray.

"I don't smell it either," I said.

"Don't you smell it? It smells like lavender!"

Uh-oh.

"Lavender? Lavender Brown? What's wrong with you, mate?"

"No! I don't mean her! I mean like the flower. Like the scent."

"Nope," said Ron, "I don't smell anything."

"Uhhh..me neither," I answer nervously.

"It smells like Hermione."

I blushed. I really didn't think anyone would pay any attention to what I smelled like.

"What'd you say?" asked Ron, who hadn't heard Harry. I pretended I didn't hear him either.

"Noth-Nothing," muttered Harry, "Goodnight Herman. 'Night Ron."

"'Night," Ron and I said together.

And I fell asleep, thinking about Cho, mash potatoes, lavender flowers, lamb chops, and Harry.

* * *

Chappie 10? You like? I really didn't know how to end it…so I just came up with the whole lavender thing at the end. Haha. I hope that break-up was good enough. But I'll let you know now that that is not the end of Cho! She'll be back. Haha. And I'm not sure if you remember, but there was a little girl in chapter 8 that found out about Hermione's secret. She'll be making a comeback as well. Not for awhile, but I just wanted to give you a heads up. Just in case you forgot who she was.

Next chapter, I think I'm gonna focus more on Herman rather than Hermione. I'm not really sure if I want to continue on the Quidditch World Cup arc. I've kind of wanted them to go back to Hogwarts. But I have no idea. In this story, it's almost February I think…I'm really not sure. I'll have to go read old chapters..haha. Anyways, February means Valentine's Day! Maybe something on that? More suggestions?

Once again, review, alright? And leave suggestions! I really do use them! As for when the next chapter's gonna be out, soon. That's all I'm going to say.

But till chapter 11! Byee!

_Thanks To The People Who Reviewed:_ The Fiffth Marauder. Lily and James Love 4 Ever. tpfang56. Gurlonthemove. Nymoue. Hotkat144. pstibbons. Harry's My Boy. The Fanfic Guardian. The Celtic Amazon.


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